Keke Palmer has been everybody's little-sister-in-their-heads for like, ever. Now, the 23-year-old is on her grown woman ish. After rocking our exclusive mini-photoshoot, Keke talks to TheYBF.com's founder Natasha on the newest episode of The YBF Podcast about her new image, new music, a certain NBA baller, sexism, a lesbian-love-story-and-Pimp movie role, and a refreshing outlook on fame. P.S. She couldn't care less if you have a problem with any of it.
Keke, excuse us, Lauren Palmer, is stirring up all the internets these days. So we HAD to catch up with the "Scream Queens" star and I Don't Belong To You author (her book is out January 31st & available now for pre-order!) about her tons of projects, her sexy & fun 90's inspired image, her new crush, why she used Kylie Jenner to talk about beauty standards and not a black woman, the tea on the movie industry and everything in between. While chatting about her new EP Lauren, she exclusively told us what she's working on with Chris Brown (listen above!).
The "Hands Free" singer & Natasha sat down this week at the gorgeous Samsung 837 experiential flagship in New York City's Meatpacking District to chop it up. And yes, Keke even addressed her own rules to handling social media drama.
After slaying a mini photoshoot for us in an Alexander Wang jacket, Guess dress and Louboutins at the technology playground and cultural hub, the fab (and hilarious) chick had some things to get off her chest. Here's just a few highlights:
On clapping back during social media drama:
"You see me clapping back because I’m a real person. I don’t feel like just because I’m on tv I have to hold myself to the standard you think that I should. I want everyone to stop believing and buying into ‘Just because you’re famous, why would you pay attention to me,’ and all these things that aren’t true.. "
On her new crush:
"Jimmy Butler [of the Chicago Bulls]. Girl, he is fine!"
On the Kanye & Trump debacle:
"You don't know if he's doing it all for a gag or...Him and Donald Trump could be in on some ish together for all we know. There's so much entertainment that goes on and it's so well thought out and so organized, I don't even think people realize it."
On sexism in the industry:
"The age thing, I always felt. The African American thing, I always felt. The sexism, that came with womanhood. I could not believe it. It is horrific. My mama always told me to keep your eye on the prize...We honestly do have to swallow our pride. Women have to do it more then men do.... [So now I say in business meetings], 'I'm listening to you, I'm loving everything you're saying. But last time I checked, I had 4.4 million followers and I don't need you to let me release my video.'"
On who LAUREN (Keke's actual name) really is:
"People have a certain perception and it's really hard to penetrate with something else. I'm a regular person with an extraordinary job. It's really not that deep to me. You see me tweeting my fans because I'm a real person. I don't think I'm above anybody and I don't think there's anybody who doesn't deserve my conversation if I have something to say...I’m really so sick of the fame thing. I’m tired of people believing it."
On what she REALLY meant by her Kylie Jenner social media post about beauty standards:
"It's no disrespect, but this family is the biggest example of this which is, 'I'll do anything that they want me to do to get the attention.' When people are saying 'Yeah I love this,' you're buying into them saying 'I'll do anything to make myself the beauty standard'....We send a lot of different conflicting messages. When was the last time we ever praised a girl for being natural [physically]?"
Listen to the full interview above where the actress-singer & Natasha laugh it up and throw a little shade about EVERYTHING.
The super bubbly Keke dishes on her musical inspirations, why she doesn't care if people don't love how she dresses, the MAJOR divas she wants to play in a biopic, that tragic Aaliyah biopic, why her mother only allowed her to choose certain movie roles, "fake happy" people on social media, playing in a new lesbian love story movie called "Pimp," the craziest celeb contacts in her phone, and who she would smash-marry-kill (both men AND women).
Get into our hot mini-shoot with Keke in the gallery below (or CLICK HERE)!
Photographer: Jewel Scott Jones for TheYBF.com