Fans Are Disappointed About Keke Palmer Defending R. Kelly In A Resurfaced Clip
Keke Palmer has been in the headlines lately after her then-boyfriend, Darius Jackson called her out for her outfit at an Usher concert. "It's the outfit tho... you a mom," he tweeted in July 2023.
Fans were quick to defend Palmer. By August, an insider said that the new parents had broken up. The Hustlers star seemingly confirmed it after teaming up with Usher for the music video of his new track, Nope.
A source later told People that Jackson has "moved on" and that "you don't have to be in the same household to be good parents." But just as Palmer was receiving so much support, a video of her defending R. Kelly resurfaced — causing fans to turn on her.
Here's a closer look at the actress' relationship with her former mentor.
How Close Were Keke Palmer And R. Kelly?
During a 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Palmer said that she didn't experience the horrific claims against R. Kelly. "That's not the side I knew," she told Andy Cohen. "That's not the person that I worked with. That's not the experience I had. So, just imagine if you're having a great experience with someone and then you're hearing all this stuff it's like, 'Why didn't you show them what you showed me?' That's the feeling I had."
The Scream Queens alum didn't even know what to feel at first. "I hated talking about it because I felt like, man, you were a friend to me but then I'm seeing you as a foe to others and I'm hurt for them," she said of the "eye-opening, painful, sad, disappointing and heartbreaking" revelations.
She added: "How do I feel about it? How do I put myself in this position now? It was very sad. I think that anybody that loved him as a person probably feels that way. That's not something you want to hear about somebody that you cared for."
In 2017, the Akeelah and the Bee star told Billboard that she "spent a lot of time working with R. Kelly." At that time, she said of the R&B artist: "And one thing that he told me, he was like, 'Keke, you don't need to shy away from your acting. You bring that to a part of your music. You make that take your music to the next level.'"
How Did Keke Palmer Defend R. Kelly Amid Accusations?
In 2018, Palmer defended R. Kelly on The Breakfast Club amid the piling allegations against him. "Y'all gon' stop coming at my boy, Kellz, okay?" she told the hosts at that time. Charlamagne tha God quipped: "R. Kelly [not] gon' stop coming at 13-year-old girls, allegedly."
The multi-performer went on to question the latest accusations against his former teacher back then. "The last people they were talking about were over the age of eighteen," she said. When told about the 14-year-old "grooming" victim, Palmer dismissively said, "Stop with the grooming... I don't know this side of Kellz."
She added that "the side of Kellz that I know is the musical genius." When asked about her thoughts on claims that R. Kelly had given STDs to a victim, Palmer shrugged it off and said: "A lot of guys do this. It's not just Kellz."
Finally, when R. Kelly's marriage to a fifteen-year-old Aaliyah was brought up, the Alice star laughingly stated: "You know what, I cannot speak on those things that I don't know."
What Did Keke Palmer Say About R. Kelly's Conviction?
Palmer eventually slammed R. Kelly when the allegations turned into criminal charges. In January 2019, she said in a lengthy Instagram post that she cried after watching the docuseries, Surviving R. Kelly.
"Just finished Surviving R. Kelly and I have spent the last hour crying," she wrote. "As a student of R. Kelly's for the time I was and having been around his light and understanding the obstacles he overcame as a child to actually be birthed into the musical genius he is today..."
She added said that the incarcerated musician "slapped God in the face by his actions towards these women." The Nope star concluded her post by saying that she supports the victims of R. Kelly. "I am hurt and saddened because he could have been a blessing to these women but instead he repeatedly took advantage and that I can not accept," she said.
"I will stand by my sisters because that's simply what's right and what I hope discontinues this behavior in anyone," she continued. "We have to be good to each other, not all of us accept the light but those of us that do must be responsible!!!! We can not take advantage of each other or accept when someone else does."
In 2022, R. Kelly was convicted of three child pornography charges, along with three charges of enticing a minor. He's set to be released on December 21, 2045.
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