Twenty-year-old Keke Palmer is notably one of the most successful child actresses who transitioned flawlessly into adulthood. With hit television shows and movies under her belt, Palmer will become the youngest talk show host in the history of television, this upcoming summer. With the announcement of her new talk show, The Keke Project , MadameNoire got a chance to catch up with Keke about her latest success. In the midst of our giggles and Keke preaching to the choir, she gave insight on her dating life and how she plans to change television, and, truth be told, she is wiser than many double her age. Jump into our interview to read her sage advice.
How does it feel to become the youngest person in television history to host a talk show?
“It’s unbelievable! When I started the process of the talk show, I did not consider how young I am. It was a dream I was trying to achieve and to get recognition on top of that is the icing on the cake!”
What can you tell us about ‘The Keke Project” and your plans for the show?
“It will be a fun show for my generation, where people can have a place to respect ourselves and our skills: whether it be fashion or getting ready for college. For me personally, I will be dealing with living on my own and not having my parents around. I will also discuss men and the pressure of sex. I want to touch on everything young people go through.”
How do you manage to stay grounded in the entertainment industry?
“I stay close to my family, friends and God. I am extremely close to my parents and I have a great support system. I always make sure I am prayed up. My focus is not on the materialistic things around me. I never wanted to get caught up in the Hollywood stuff because that is not what matters. What matters is my purpose and spreading God’s love around the world.”
What do you think of reality television shows and the backlash they receive?
“I think people need to know the difference between entertainment and reality. People get caught up with the circumstances in shows like Basketball Wives or Teen Mom; people say if young girls watch these shows, they will want to emulate these women. I say no! It is not a television show’s fault if your child wants to behave in a certain manner. This means your child is not being taught the difference between what you should and should not do. My sister watches Teen Mom but she never says,’I want to be a pregnant teen.’ If anything, my sister tells me it is what she does not want to become. People take reality shows too seriously and the are usually not even real. Every thing you watch does not need to become a part of your personal life.”
What can you tell us about abstinence and the dating scene?
“Both men and women pressure each other for sex. We’re young, live your life and enjoy yourself. My thing is, people need to be with those who respect you. At the end of the day, whoever you spend your time with make sure they value you. If you feel over the course of time they are deserving of whatever it is you would like to give them, fine. My twitter rant [about sex] was for myself; I find myself dating guys who I do not talk to anymore because, I assume, we have not had sex. [Sex] is the number one topic in the conversation with these men and I’m like ‘uh no, I do not want to talk about that all the time!’ I do not know why there is so much pressure being built when you are dating someone. It’s like they have a ticking time clock on you. It is not about the time, it is about making sure this is the right person. I always use my Twitter as an outlet. It’s like my therapy. I feel like my talk show will allow me to do the same self-expression. People are going through these same burdens. My priority is not the sex. I refuse to succumb to my flesh. I will not offer myself up to someone who does not know my spirit.”
As a celebrity, how do men approach you?
“They don’t approach me. Sometimes they do but then they will back off because they think it is too much. I am very confident, independent, silly, goofy and sometimes, too nice. I think what happens is I speak my mind so much guys may think, ‘I don’t know about all of that!’ They psyche themselves out a lot of the times because of what I write on my Twitter. But it is really simple, in order to date me, be a gentleman. Be kind, take me out sometime and be sweet. But it seems like that is a lot to ask for these days. Sometimes it is hard to make a real connection. It takes a lot of time to find someone who you truly connect with because there can be people who you really vibe with, but there is no chemistry. You can find a great guy but he may not be a great guy for you!”
