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Keke Palmer Admits Where She Stands With Ex Darius Jackson
Keke Palmer is thankful to this man—Will Smith, that is.
The Nickelodeon alum recently shared that she considered getting emancipated from her parents at 17 years old while working as a young Hollywood star. However, she changed her mind after an unexpected phone call from the Hitch actor, who gave her a ring while she was on the set of True Jackson, VP, which ran from 2008 to 2011.
“I get a call from this really, really obscure number," Keke shared on the Nov. 19 episode of The Toast podcast. "And I'm like, ‘What? This is weird, I'm not answering this.’"
After missing the call, the Nope actress—who shares son Leodis, 21 months, with ex Darius Jackson—realized she had a voicemail from Will, who encouraged her to power through after learning of her situation from her lawyer.
"Hey, Keke. It's Will,’” Keke said while impersonating the Oscar winner. “‘We're over here doing Karate Kid with [my son] Jaden. I just want to let you know I talked to [your lawyer]. He let me know everything you're going through, and I want you to know sometimes it's hard being the first, but you'll get through. Just keep staying focused, love on your family, and y'all gonna be good.’"
At the time, Keke felt that being a child star was a brand new experience for everyone in her life, which left her feeling somewhat isolated from her family.
“I did have problems with my parents during that time of just them not understanding what I was going through,” she explained. “So, it wasn’t totally peachy keen.”
"This was a difficult thing for me that I felt meant that I had to throw my family away,” she said before noting the help she had along the way. “I've always had a lot of people—whether they're notable names or they're my attorney—that I had a good community, that also my parents made sure I was around, that would encourage community and not like dissension and us breaking apart."
Adela Loconte/Shutterstock; Schneider-Press/Siebert/SIPA/Shutterstock
But despite the difficulty of growing up in Hollywood, Keke expressed gratitude for the effort her mom and dad put in to protect her as a young star.
“I do think that my parents did a really great job trying to explain to me what it was I was doing at these companies so I didn’t take things personal,” she shared. “How they make you feel about yourself and your work and how that is connected to your esteem are really important things to talk through. I think my mom did a really good job trying to help me process those things.”
Now, Keke is forging her own path as a mom herself. To learn more about her parenthood journey with son Leodis, read on.
Instagram / Keke Palmer
This is What Dreams Are Made Of...
The Nope actress recapped her trip to Rome with her son Leodis Jackson in an Instagram carousel featuring quality time with the family, Lizzie McGuire throwbacks and an adorable mirror moment with her “Leo Rising” toddler.
Instagram / Keke Palmer
Mother's Day Message
Palmer gushed over “Master Leodis” in a heartwarming Mother’s Day post, teasing her desire for an even bigger family.
“I love being a mom more than I thought I would, and that was a lot already,” she shared on Instagram. “I want a whole soccer team.”
Instagram / Keke Palmer
First Words on Set
Palmer was shocked in an adorable video of Leodis saying the word “mama” for the first time while on set. As she put it, “I’m not crying YOU ARE.”
Instagram / Keke Palmer
Baby's First Birthday
The proud mother wished her “Leo Beo” a happy first birthday in her emotional post, sharing that he has given her life purpose.
“You make my life so worth living,” she wrote in February 2024. “I’d live a million lives. Even with all the pain and suffering one has to experience here. I will do it over and over again, because I know that I’d be with YOU!”
Instagram / Keke Palmer
Santa's Little Helper
“Santa” and her “favorite little helper” dazzled in a sparkly red dress and the cutest elf costume.
Instagram / Keke Palmer
True Love
Palmer was all smiles as she danced with her baby boy, calling him “the love of my life,” in her Instagram caption. “I can’t wait until you’re older and we can go to the movies together, camp, improv, binge tv shows, cook and all the other endless things I dream of doing with you."
Instagram / Keke Palmer
Popcorn, Popcorn
Leo giggled at his mom as she recited the catch phrases of viral TikTok sensation Pinkydoll, repeating “popcorn, popcorn.”
Instagram / Keke Palmer
From the Archives
Palmer couldn’t help but pull this sweet moment out of the archives, sharing a video of the joyful mom showering her baby with kisses.
Instagram / Keke Palmer
Mommy and Me Yoga
This mama was ready for Mommy and Me yoga in an adorable skit, but baby Leo wasn’t too sure about the whole yoga situation…
Instagram / Keke Palmer
First Mother's Day
“Happy Mother’s Day,” Palmer wrote on the milestone day, “to a MUVAAAAA.”
Instagram / Keke Palmer
April Fools' Day Manifestation
This was not an April Fools’ joke…Keke Palmer may have manifested the birth of her first baby, thinking back to when she “’joked’ about being preggers” just one year prior.
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