Keke Palmer: I Didn’t Feel Adequately Paid Until Jordan Peele’s ‘Nope’

Keke Palmer has worked in Hollywood since she was 10 — but when asked by Business Insider when she felt adequately paid, the 31-year-old said: “‘Nope,’ that was probably the first time.”

Palmer played Emerald Haywood in Jordan Peele’s 2022 horror movie, in which she and Daniel Kaluuya play siblings who try to get a photo of a murderous UFO to sell the image for money.

Before “Nope,” Palmer led the Nickelodeon series “True Jackson, VP,” which ran from 2008 until 2011, starred in the 2015 slasher comedy “Scream Queens” created by Ryan Murphy, and voiced the mammoth Peaches in multiple “Ice Age” movies. Palmer’s first prominent movie role was at the age of 12 in 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee,” in which she starred opposite Queen Latifah.

Palmer, who is also a singer, TV host, author, and podcaster, said that gender and racial inequalities are very real in Hollywood, but she doesn’t dwell on them.

“I don’t compare — especially as a Black person, a Black woman — because it’s not a fair thing to do to myself,” Palmer continued. “I don’t think that comparing oneself makes sense in any regard, because you’re not at the same vantage point, beginning or otherwise, as someone else.”

She added that “if you are getting your needs met, that has to be at the forefront of your mind. That doesn’t mean that everything is fair, but it’s an important thing to think about and have a particular perspective about.”

Palmer encourages other actors in Hollywood to diversy their income streams

Palmer said it’s one of the reasons she’s diversified her income streams, including owning multiple production companies, and has encouraged others to do the same.

“It’s essentially why I turned my brand into a holdings company with subsidiaries. You have to diversify,” Palmer said.

It’s increasingly common for A-listers to launch multiple businesses to increase career longevity. Rihanna has Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. Kim Kardashian launched Skims, and Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine, is among the most successful in Hollywood.

In recent years, Black actors, including Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Mo’Nique, and Taraji P. Henson, have spoken out about not being paid fairly on account of their race and gender.

In a 2023 SiriusXM interview, Henson confirmed rumors that she considered quitting Hollywood over pay inequality.

“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” she said tearfully. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to.”