Keke Palmer Says She Wasn't in the 'Same Conversations' as Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus as 'the Black Girl' on Nickelodeon

Mar. 15, 2025

Keke Palmer in 2006; Selena Gomez in 2009; Miley Cyrus in 2006.Photo:SGranitz/WireImage; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Mike Guastella/WireImage

SGranitz/WireImage; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Mike Guastella/WireImage

Keke Palmeris reflecting on her early acting days.

The Emmy winner, 31, said in a recent interview withThe Cutthat she wasn’t considered in the same way as her peers during her time on Nickelodeon.

Despite the success of Palmer’s teen sitcomTrue Jackson, VP,she felt that “people were putting limitations on me,” she shared.

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

Cindy Ord/Getty

“I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations asVictoria JusticeorSelena GomezorMiley Cyrusat that time,” Palmer said. “It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network.’ "

Justice had her own Nickelodeon showVictorious, while Gomez starred inWizards of Waverly Placeand Cyrus famously headlined theHannah Montanafranchise – both on Disney Channel.

Palmer went on to relate the feeling to being the only Black child in her class at her private school in Illinois. “There is a loss of innocence that comes with the awareness that you’re treated differently that I’d accepted a long time ago,” she said, noting that she has since changed her perspective.

“I don’t compare myself to anyone,” Palmer said. “But Idefinitelydon’t compare myself to any White person.”

Keke Palmer in “True Jackson, VP” in 2008.Everett

As someone who worked on both Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel — in the 2007 filmJump In! —Palmer recently opened up about thedifferences she saw between the two networks.

“Disney is really amazing when it comes to, not only the storytelling you see on screen, but the storytelling within the company. They are storytelling through marketing, through their employees. They’ve got the pins in the office,” Palmer said on a November 2024 episode ofThe Toastpodcast.

“They are literally like a whole universe, and I think that feels really good when you’re a kid because the magic doesn’t end. There’s an element that being a part of it is really, really fun.”

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Palmer later noted that “Disney has a way of making you feel like, ‘I need to be here. It’s something you want to be a part of.’ "

When it came to Nickelodeon, “their paying was really awesome,” she revealed, adding that the environment was “kind of like ‘Come in and get this check.’ It wasn’t about making it necessarily exciting.”

source: people.com