Keke Palmer, known for her early breakout roles in Akeelah and the Bee and True Jackson, VP, recently shared her struggles as a young breadwinner for her family. Speaking candidly in an interview with The Cut, Palmer admitted that she resented her parents for years due to the immense pressure placed on her shoulders at a young age. "I hated my parents for a long time," Palmer said.
She explained how her family depended on her income, creating an unspoken but ever-present burden. "There was so much pressure to rise to the occasion for my community, for my parents, for my siblings, for their sacrifices.
They weren't saying it, but that was the reality.
Because I'm the one that we all came here for." Palmer's parents closely monitored her roles, turning down opportunities they deemed unsuitable, such as a role in Half Nelson after her breakout performance in Akeelah and the Bee. "They didn't think it was good for me to play a drug dealer," she recalled, adding, "They were very cautious about the roles I played as a young Black child." Despite finding success with True Jackson, VP in 2008, Palmer was acutely aware of the limitations placed on her as a young Black actress in Hollywood. She said bluntly, "I wasn't necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time.
