Keke Palmer Opens Up About Racially Charged Moment With Scream Queens Costar And Conflict With Ryan Murphy On Set
Keke Palmer in her book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative revisits some painful memories from the filming of Scream Queens, where she played Zayday Williams in Ryan Murphy’s horror comedy. Announcing November 19 as the launch date, the book speaks about a co-star who hurled racially offensive remarks and a tiff with Murphy, who is the show’s co-creator.
Palmer spoke out about her encounter with a white colleague, whom she nicknamed ‘Brenda’, who made a nasty racial comment when Palmer was trying to help resolve an altercation at work. During the filming of Scream Queens, Palmer was shocked at how ‘Brenda’ managed to say such a thing, but she chose not to let it bring her down.
The Hustlers actress recalled the co-star telling her, “Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin f—ing Luther King?” when she suggested everyone should “have fun and respect each other.” Rather than give credence to the offensive remark, Palmer refrains from calling the co-star by name.
“It was such a weighted thing that she said, but I didn’t allow that weight to be projected on me, because I know who I am,” Palmer told the Los Angeles Times.
Reflecting on the heated moment, she decided not to give it any power by naming the actress. She added, “I’m no victim. That’s not my storyline, sweetie. I don’t care what her ass said. If I allow what she said to cripple me, then she would.”
The memoir also revealed a note on a scheduling tension with Ryan Murphy, where Palmer explained how, upon getting her filming schedule, she organized another job for her day off. However, she was later called back to set without notice, and as a result, she was unable to attend the shoot. Murphy expressed his dissatisfaction and disagreement on the issue and even went as far as to question Palmer’s professionalism.
To Palmer, it appeared that everything had been resolved ever since she apologized for the incident, but a coworker later insinuated that there may still be some active issues, which of course did not sit well with Palmer. In hindsight of that scenario, the Nope star stated that it was an event that may have cost her chances of collaborating with Murphy again, as he is known to work with people in his established circle.
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