Keke Palmer Doesn't Mince Words About Fans Comparing Her To Zendaya
Jordan Peele's horror thriller "Nope" blew both critics and moviegoers away this July, with star Keke Palmer being hailed as a clear standout. Slate's review of the film professed that "Keke Palmer's whole career has been leading up to 'Nope.'" Meanwhile, The Ringer acknowledged that while Palmer has "earned her audience's appreciation" over many years, she now will "have everyone's attention, too." The outlet added that for Palmer, a child star since 2004, it "almost feels disrespectful" to call her performance "a breakout role."
They weren't the only ones of that mind. Some Twitter denizens took issue with critics painting Palmer as a fresh-faced ingenue when she's been on the scene for a while. "In my household Keke been a star for forever Akeelah & The Bee was my dad's favorite movie," one fan noted. Another user went further in a subsequent tweet, writing that she would "like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya's careers. This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood." As the fan pointed out, the two actors were "both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different."
Palmer got wind of this discussion — and she had an interestingly bold take on the comparison.
Keke Palmer shrugs off Zendaya comparisons
Keke Palmer doesn't want anyone's sympathy over comparisons between her and Zendaya's careers — she has a great one, after all! Despite the best intentions of some fans, Palmer rejected their insinuations that colorism was to blame for Zendaya having a bigger household name than her.
"A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone," Palmer fired back in a July 24 tweet, continuing, "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." As she pointed out in a follow-up tweet, she has "been a leading lady since I was 11," has "over 100+ credits" to her name and "had a blessed career thus far."
While many fans celebrated Palmer's self-affirming confidence, with one cheering, "Girl yes... it's an insult to think Zendaya is more successful than you. You are fabulous and shine and incomparable," others found her wording a little ... much. "'Incomparable talent' Who speaks like that about themselves?! I guess you might be a lot of things but humble is not one of them," one such user tweeted, writing that they have never heard of her. Meanwhile, another user retorted to the last fan that their ignorance of Palmer was due to "the lack of diversity in the media you consume."