Keke Palmer’s Mother Addresses Her Past Comments About Darius Jackson And Admits That She Went Into “Survival Mode”: “I Was A Mother That Was Defending My Child”

Actress Keke Palmer recently sat down with The Los Angeles Times to discuss her forthcoming memoir, ‘Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative.’ According to reports, the book is expected to detail personal anecdotes that promise to give readers some insight into her life and career while addressing some of the more publicized moments that have shaped her journey.

One of the more standout moments from the interview was Keke’s reflection on her rocky relationship with her child’s father, Darius Jackson. To give you a little backstory, Keke and Darius began dating in June 2021 and welcomed their son, Leodis, two years later. While their relationship seemed to be picture-perfect, things took a turn for the worse just months after baby Leo was born. The first red flag emerged after Keke attended Usher’s residency in Las Vegas. During the show, the singer took a moment to serenade Keke, a move he did at every show to his special guests. However, it wasn’t the performance that made Darius angry; it was Keke’s outfit of choice, which was a sheer black dress over a thong bodysuit.

“It’s the outfit tho…you a mom,” Darius tweeted.

His comment set off a controversial debate between social media users about respect and boundaries in a relationship. But, unfortunately, the situation intensified when Keke later filed for a temporary restraining order against Darius, making domestic violence claims during their two-year relationship. As a result, Keke was granted a restraining order and Darius filed his own request, alleging that Keke had been violent toward him. Additionally, he also included Keke’s mother, Sharon, who he says berated him with homophobic remarks.

Since the drama has since died down, Sharon has come forward to address the incident, explaining that she immediately went into defensive mode behind her daughter.

“When somebody comes at your child and you know your daughter is a good person, and you know she didn’t do anything to deserve what he said, you go into survival [mode],” Sharon said in the interview. “I wanted my daughter to know that he couldn’t get away with that. I was so happy that people understood that I was a mother that was defending my child. Because I never want to do anything to embarrass Keke ever.”

She continued, “She called and told me, and I said, ‘Well, you need to protect yourself and call the police.’ She didn’t even do it. It was her sister who did, her sister who said, ‘I’m gonna call.’”

As for Keke, she admits that navigating her personal life and painful experiences under the microscope of the media has been extremely difficult. Nonetheless, she reminded fans to stay focus of the positive things instead of playing into negativity.

“I know I’m a public figure and I’m Keke Palmer and ‘It’s yo’ girl!’” Keke said. “But on the real tip, let me be clear with you guys: This is my personal life. If you care about me or worry about me or want to pray for me, that’s great. But this is not the relationship we actually have. We have a relationship that’s involved with what I would hope to be positive things, encouraging things, laughing moments. I want to put my best foot forward every time for the people that are watching me on my platform. I’m an artist painting the best possible picture that I can, because I care about what you’re looking at.”