Darius Jackson fires back at Keke Palmer, alleging abuse

Keke Palmer in a strapless blue dress posing alongside a man in a white shirt with grey panels and beige pants

Dec. 15, 2023 2:39 PM PT

Darius Jackson has flipped the script on ex-girlfriend Keke Palmer, accusing the “Nope” star of abuse in response to her domestic violence allegations from November.

In a counterclaim filed Friday morning in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the former football player responded to Palmer’s request for a temporary restraining order by claiming said she “repeatedly engaged in abusive conduct” and “acted as the primary aggressor” throughout their two-year relationship. Palmer, 30, and Jackson, 29, share 9-month-old son Leodis Andrellton.

At the center of Jackson’s counterclaim are several incidents dating as far back as Aug. 20, 2021, to March 12, 2023. He alleged in the filing that Palmer “was verbally and physically abusive” and “frequently became agitated and aggressive after consuming alcohol.”

Among his allegations, Jackson said that the former child star “punched me in the face” at a birthday party in August 2021, “punched the windshield of my car while I was driving” in January 2022 and “physically attacked me by choking and hitting me” in her Los Angeles home on Feb. 28, 2022.

Jackson also alleged that on March 12 of this year, Palmer blamed him when a shower drain was not working and water overflowed out of the bathroom. He claims she had been drinking and called him multiple expletives. “I tried to de-escalate the situation and she became more enraged,” Jackson’s counterclaim said.

A legal representative for Palmer did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

On Nov. 9, Palmer was granted a request for a restraining order against Jackson and requested temporary custody over their son. Her request stemmed from an alleged incident on Nov. 5, when she said Jackson “trespassed into my home without my knowledge or consent, threatened me, then physically attacked me.” Palmer’s court documents also included screenshots of surveillance video showing Jackson’s alleged trespassing. Jackson said the photos and video “are misleading.”

Jackson offered his side of the Nov. 5 incident. He alleged Palmer was on the phone with her mother and “refused to answer” where their son was. He claims that Palmer’s mother, Sharon, “immediately directed threats and profanities at me.”

Palmer said in her November declaration that the baby was with her sister and that Jackson allegedly “lunged at me, grabbing at my neck and face” after she requested he leave her home multiple times. Jackson alleges Palmer “resisted and fell back on the couch.”

The counterclaim also detailed Jackson’s account of a February 2022 incident where Palmer alleged that her ex-boyfriend became “violently jealous and irrationally angry over a bikini picture.” In his filing he accused Palmer of berating him and said he was scared “she would attack me again.” He alleged that Palmer tried to stop him from leaving and ripped his shirt off and followed him down the stairs of their home. Palmer claimed Jackson grabbed “her and “slammed [her] back onto the stairs” in her home, but Jackson said she tripped over herself on the steps and pulled him down.

Jackson’s declaration also included multiple screenshots of text and email exchanges with Palmer, an online transfer of $600 “for windshield” allegedly from the actor, and a transcript of Palmer’s call with her mother on the day of the Nov. 5 dispute.

Jackson is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son and said that the court should deny Palmer’s request for a domestic violence restraining order. He also requested stay-away and no-contact orders and that Palmer pay his legal fees.

Palmer and Jackson began dating in June 2021 and called things off in October, months after Jackson faced social media scrutiny for his comments about Palmer’s appearance at an Usher concert in Las Vegas .

“It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” Jackson replied to a clip of Palmer slow-dancing with Usher in a sheer dress and black bodysuit.

Jackson’s unsolicited opinion of how a mom should dress immediately sparked a backlash on social media, where people accused him of attempting to exert control over Palmer. To make matters worse, Jackson doubled down in a follow-up tweet, accusing “the wife & mother to his kids” of showing off her “booty cheeks to please others.”

A hearing about Palmer’s restraining order is set for Jan. 9.

Times researcher Cary Schneider contributed to this report.