Keke Palmer shuts down any resemblance: ‘I’m an incomparable talent’
Hot off the success of “Nope,” Keke Palmer is reminding everyone that she is — and always has been — an “incomparable talent.”
The 28-year-old actor, singer and TV host appeared to respond Sunday to a viral Twitter thread comparing her career to Zendaya’s and denouncing colorism in the entertainment industry.
“A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,” Palmer tweeted.
“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 who the hell are they?” is just one of Keke Palmer’s greatest hits so far from the press tour for “Nope,” Jordan Peele’s new film.
Palmer’s remarks arrived a day after @NBAgladiator (display name: Melinda Eg) wrote that she would “like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya’s careers” in response to a tweet from Teen Vogue’s Aiyana N. Ishmael. In her tweet, Ishmael mused that it was “interesting” and “wild” to see “Nope” described as Palmer’s “breakout or superstar moment” when the “Akeelah and the Bee” actor has “been a star forever” in her household.
“This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood,” @NBAgladiator tweeted on Saturday. “[Palmer and Zendaya] were both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different.”
“They are 2 incredibly talented Virgo Queens who each have an Emmy, but in different categories,” she added. “Keke Palmer has done sooo much throughout her career, yet ppl are saying #NopeMovie is her breakout role?
#Euphoria is what is considered Zendaya’s breakout role, but that makes sense.”
After some accused her of unnecessarily forcing a link between the “Hustlers” star and the “Euphoria” star, @NBAgladiator clarified that she’s “not slighting either woman.”
“I’m literally a fan of both of them,” she added. “It’s just weird that ppl are acting like this is a breakout role for Keke, who is VERY successful. And Zendaya has talked abt colorism before.”
In another tweet seemingly reacting to @NBAgladiator’s thread, Palmer — who wowed critics with her moving performance in 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee” before starring in Disney Channel’s “Jump In!,” Nickelodeon’s “True Jackson, VP” and dozens of other projects — pointed out that she’s “been a leading lady” since she 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,” the Emmy winner tweeted.
“I’ve had a blessed career thus far, I couldn’t ask for more but God continues to surprise me.”
On Monday, @NBAgladiator praised Palmer’s comments and agreed the performer is “incomparable.”
Palmer’s latest film, “Nope,” opened atop the domestic box office this weekend, about a month after another Palmer project, “Lightyear,” launched at No. 2. In recent weeks, Palmer has drawn rave reviews for her riveting turn in “Nope,” the buzzy sci-fi thriller directed by Jordan Peele.
“You can ... appreciate how [Daniel] Kaluuya’s and Palmer’s initially clashing rhythms — his slow and dour, hers fast and excitable — gradually come to complement each other as their characters join forces,” wrote Times film critic Justin Chang, who deemed Palmer’s performance “terrific.”
“Nope,” also starring Daniel Kaluuya and Steven Yeun, is in theaters now.
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