Keke Palmer Reveals Her Inappropriate Relationship With an Older Man When She Was 15: 'Who He Met Was a Child'
During an interview with "PEOPLE," actress and new mom Keke Palmer revealed she had an "inappropriate" relationship with an older man while filming her Nickelodeon show as a teenager.
During the candid conversation, Palmer also revealed details about her abusive relationship with her ex Darius Jackson, noting how dangerous things had gotten. She reflects on how the relationship mirrored similar power dynamics she experienced when dating an older man in her youth.
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The 31-year-old shared the relationship happened while filming her Nickelodeon sitcom, True Jackson, VP. "I had a great time doing True Jackson VP, but it was also a very stressful, difficult, depressive time," she recalled, finding herself in an age-gap relationship. "I was 15, he was 20. I was trying to balance between being really young, but also feeling quite mature. If I thought it was inappropriate, then I wouldn't have done it. But in my mind, it was like 'I got a full-time job... Can't nobody understand me but a grown man.' But he knew there was a lot of stuff that there's no damn way for me to understand at damn 15."
"I wasn't mentally able to process and understand things that would've made that relationship appropriate," she further reflected. "The power dynamic put me in a place that harmed me in ways I couldn't have known. I didn't have the language or the strength to accept that who he met was a child, not the woman I wanted to become."
Palmer added that she kept the five-year relationship under wraps from family, though she continues to suffer from its negative impact. She credits Jackson for showing her what a healthier relationship dynamic looked like, though things took a significant turn during the latter half of their nearly three-year relationship.
Palmer eventually filed for a restraining order against Jackson in November 2023, alleging multiple incidents of physical abuse. She was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson, along with temporary sole custody of their son, Leodis.
The interview comes in promotion of Palmer's latest memoir, 'Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative,' set for release November 19, 2024. The novel is set to explore vulnerable and candid reflections on her career, her relationship with Jackson, and the challenges of navigating both fame and parenthood.
