Keke Palmer Says She Was 'Traumatized' by a Former Manager Who Said Her Mom Would 'Die' If She Didn't Lose Weight

Mar. 15, 2025

Keke Palmer Onstage during “The Many Masters Tour” at The Vision Cathedral of Atlanta on December 14, 2024 in Atlanta.Photo:Prince Williams/WireImage

Prince Williams/WireImage

Keke Palmerhad an interaction with her manager that left her scarred.

In a recent interview withThe Cut, the Emmy winner, 31, revealed that a former manager once criticized her mother’s health.

Palmer, who was 12 at the time, recalled them saying her mother would die if she didn’t lose weight.

“That really, really traumatized me and stressed me out,” she said. “It got me thinking she was going to die, thinking about things like medical bills. It was just too much.”

Actress Keke Palmer arrives at the “This Christmas” world premiere at the Cinerama Dome on Nov. 12, 2007 in Hollywood, Calif.Jesse Grant/WireImage

Jesse Grant/WireImage

It was just one of many difficult experiences Palmer, who stars in the upcoming movieOne of Them Days,had as a child actor.

She also recalled feeling the pressure to land new acting roles because she was supporting her family financially.

“I hated my parents for a long time,” she told the outlet. “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.”

Keke Palmer visits the SiriusXM Studios on Nov. 20, 2024 in New York City.Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Palmer went on to become a television regular in the aughts, starring in the Disney Channel original movieJump In!and headlining the Nickelodeon sitcomTrue Jackson, VP.

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Speaking exclusively with PEOPLEin an October 2024 interview ahead of the release of her memoirMaster of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative, she recalled being in an inappropriate relationship while filming the Nickelodeon series.

“I was 15, he was 20,” Palmer said of the unidentified individual. “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."

“Obviously I shouldn’t have been 15 dating no 20-year-old,” she added, “but in my mind it was like ‘I got a full-time job. . . . Can’t nobody understand me but a grown man.’ Butheknew there was a lot of stuff that there’s no damn way for me to understand at damn 15.”

source: people.com