Keke Palmer says she was "treated differently" to other Disney and Nickelodeon stars because of her race

15 January 2025, 15:10 | Updated: 15 January 2025, 15:58

Keke Palmer said she was treated differently than other Disney and Nickelodeon stars because of her race. Picture: Getty

By Jenny Medlicott

Keke Palmer has said that she was treated differently to other childhood stars during her early TV career because of her race.

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Keke Palmer has recently lifted the lid on what it was really like growing up as a Nickelodeon star, revealing that she felt like she was left out of certain conversations compared her fellow actors at the time.

There's no doubt that Keke her made a mark in the Nickelodeon sphere when she landed the lead role in True Jackson, VP in 2008. She also acted as a child star in multiple other projects including Akeelah and the Bee and ER.

But now aged 31, Keke has revealed that the reality of her early career wasn't all sunshine and roses.

Speaking to The Cut in a recent interview, the Emmy winner said that growing up as a young Black girl in Hollywood she felt like she was treated differently to other big names in kids' TV at the time.

She told the outlet: “I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time. It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network.”

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Keke Palmer on True Jackson, VP. Picture: Alamy

Selena Gomez, Victoria Justice and Miley Cyrus have often been considered key figures in the “golden age” of Nickelodeon and Disney shows. The trio appeared on Wizards of Waverley Place, Victorious and Hannah Montana respectively.

And unfortunately this wasn’t a new experience for the actress, as she delved further into what it had been like for her growing up as the only Black child 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 continued.

But these days Keke makes a point of not comparing herself to anyone, as she added now: “I don’t compare myself to anyone. But I definitely don’t compare myself to any white person.”

Keke Palmer also appeared on Scream Queens. Picture: Alamy

As it happens, Keke isn’t the only former Disney star who feels as though she didn’t quite fit in with the crowd. Early last year, Dove Cameron, the star of hit Disney Channel show Liv & Maddie, revealed that she didn’t actually consider herself to be a “Disney girl”.

Speaking to The LA Times, Dove explained: "I never had that moment where I was like, 'I am a Disney girl.' I never looked at Miley or Demi or Selena or Zendaya or Bella or anybody — Hilary Duff or anybody that came before me — I never looked at them and thought, you and me — same. I was always the strange outlier who doesn’t belong and who will never fit in."

Dove Cameron previously spoke about her experience on Disney Channel. Picture: Alamy

Keke also previously worked with Disney before her foray into the Nickelodeon universe, starring in the 2007 film Jump In!

Discussing the differences between the two networks, Keke said that she felt Disney was a “whole universe” and that it had a way of making her feel like “I need to be here”.

Nickelodeon on the other hand had “really awesome” pay, she said, and an environment that was “kind of like 'Come in and get this cheque.’ It wasn't about making it necessarily exciting”.

Since making her name on the Nickelodeon show, Keke has gone on to enjoy an incredible career, nabbing lead roles in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens, Jordan Peele's Nope and the new comedy film One of Them Days.