TV & Movies

‘I’m an Incomparable Talent’: Keke Palmer References Stacked Résumé While Addressing Colorism in Hollywood

Over the weekend, the actress found herself at the center of a Twitter debate comparing her career to the success of Zendaya

July 25, 2022

Two things have long been true about Keke Palmer: she stays booked and busy, and she minds her own damn business. But over the weekend, the actress found herself at the center of one of Twitter’s many “Why is no one talking about this?” viral debates — this one suggesting that Hollywood’s colorism problem has boosted Zendaya’s career in a way that Palmer hasn’t benefited from.

“I’d like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya’s careers,” one Twitter user wrote in response to Palmer’s current hot streak with the release of Jordan Peele’s NOPE. “This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood. They were both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different.”

The conversation made its way rather quickly from Twitter to Instagram, where the Shade Room stoked the fire within their infamously controversial comment section. When the 28-year-old actress took to Twitter to respond on Sunday, she was as unbothered as ever, declaring that the debate about her career – which spans nearly two decades – had no basis to stand on in the first place.

“A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,” Palmer wrote. “I’m the youngest talk show host ever. The first Black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon, & the youngest & first Black Cinderella on broadway. I’m an incomparable talent. Baby, THIS, is Keke Palmer.”

And her stacked résumé doesn’t end there. She added: “I’ve been a leading lady since I was 11 years old. I have over 100+ credits, and currently starring in an original screenplay that’s the number one film at the box office #NOPE. I’ve had a blessed career thus far, I couldn’t ask for more but God continues to surprise me.”

And in case anyone was still questioning her place in Hollywood, the actress shut the lid on the conversation by boosting a TikTok featuring her verse on a remix of Fam0us.Twinsss’s “Hood Bitch” where she declares: “It’s your girl Keke ‘Keep a Fucking Bag’ Palmer.”