Our September/October 2023 cover star, Keke Palmer, never fails to gag us, whether it’s serving a look, turning a fabulous moment, or sharing uplifting words of encouragement – even amid becoming embroiled in a custody battle with estranged romantic partner, Darius Jackson. We’ve been on quite a ride with Palmer and Jackson ever since her baby father publicly tried to embarrass her on social media for wearing a glamorous sheer black ensemble to Usher’s residency show in Las Vegas. Jackson’s infamous words, “You a mom tho,” has blazed a trail for all incels and the manosphere participants to chime in with their thoughts, feelings, and concerns. Fast forward to November 2023, and Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Jackson after documents were leaked alleging that he had been physically abusive on several occasions. Palmer was also temporarily granted sole custody of Leodis “Leo” Adrellton, their 10-month-old son.
As a result, thousands of Palmer’s fans and supporters shared their solidarity with the star on social media while calling out Jackson and his family for their actions against her. Shortly after the accusations, a private conversation, a recorded phone call that was leaked, between Jackson and Palmer’s mother, Sharon Palmer, was shared with the public. The discussion was heated, as Palmer’s mother had some choice words for Jackson regarding the abuse. Then, in December, Jackson decided to file a response to Palmer’s request for a domestic violence restraining order against him, with a damning claim that Palmer was actually abusive to him.
Since the domestic violence claims and social media draggings, Palmer has stayed relatively silent and has not addressed any of the situations, including Jackson, until now, it seems. Yesterday, she took to Instagram to pen a love letter to Black women around the world who’ve ever experienced domestic violence, interpersonal relationship abuse, or simply haven’t been appropriately loved.
She starts the caption with, “How can I hate black women when I date them?” and responds to the question with, “Very easily actually, so glad you asked the question! It’s very easy to date someone you don’t respect when you are looking for ways to feel better about yourself. Even if you are less successful than said woman, there is still a history of propaganda that tells you, you will always be better than she is. This is based off of racial oppression and gender oppression. You may think you have created a win win scenario for yourself to finally be “better” than someone! This is when the one sided competition begins.”
She continues, “But the gag is, you can’t break a spirit that’s already been broken OPEN. When you experience oppression, at least from where I’m standing, there isn’t anything that can take you down. So for my sisters that have found themselves sleeping with an enemy or two. They were supposed to be able to break you! Everyone said you were an easy target! But you just keep winning, and this breaks their reality. They couldn’t “beat” the one person that they were supposed to be able to beat, because you weren’t competing anyway. And now they’re watching you rise up against it all in the ways they never could. Just know they hate you because you aren’t who the world told them you’d be.”
Seemingly addressing her turbulent relationship with Jackson, she details the secret competition between two genders and how her spirit can’t be broken, even when people (the ones closest) to her have tried repeatedly. With this message, she’s empowering all Black women to stand up in their power with grace, humility, and love for themselves – despite what others say about them or how much they deem them unworthy of love, support, and intentional care.