Nickelodeon Star Keke Palmer Opens Up About Her Unique Experience as a Child Star Compared to Miley and Selena: “Everything is inherently exploitative”
Keke Palmer became famous at a young age, starring in the movie ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ when she was just 12 and later on the Nickelodeon show ‘True Jackson, VP.’ We know that the entertainment industry for child stars in general is never easy, and some truly scandalous things have been revealed over the years.
In a recent interview with ‘The Cut’ Keke Palmer talked about the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, particularly the struggle of transitioning from a child star to an adult entertainer.
She compared her experience as a Black woman to fellow stars like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, who also gained fame around the same time. Palmer explained she was often seen as different because she was Black.
While other stars like Victoria Justice, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus were more widely included in conversations, Keke felt she was often labeled as “the Black girl” on the network or the star of “the Black show.” She also shared that this feeling of being treated differently started even earlier in her life, during her time in school.
I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time. It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network
There is a loss of innocence that comes with the awareness that you’re treated differently that I’d accepted a long time ago. I don’t compare myself to anyone. But I definitely don’t compare myself to any white person.
Keke Palmer explained that while she didn’t face the same issues as some other child stars, she acknowledged that the child-star industry is inherently exploitative. However, she didn’t want to compare her experiences with others, as she believes each person’s experience is valid and that her mindset helped her survive.
After her show ended, Keke faced the challenge of being in between roles for kids and adults, but she successfully reinvented herself and built a new career.
Sure, the child-star industry is inherently exploitative. But everything is inherently exploitative. Everything is a problem, and everything is hurting somebody else. No disrespect to anybody else, because everyone else’s experience is valid. But I don’t want to group my experiences with theirs because that’s not how I think. And I think that’s a big part of how I’ve survived.
Your brand was made up of you being a kid, and you’re not a kid anymore. So you have to build a new one
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