Keke Palmer recently opened up about how a voicemail from Will Smith, received when she was a teenager, changed the trajectory of her career and helped her reconsider a decision that could have torn her away from her family.
On The Toast podcast, Palmer shared that, at the age of 17, she was seriously contemplating legal emancipation from her parents, Sharon and Larry Palmer, as tensions mounted during her teenage years. At the time, Palmer was already a rising star, known for roles in films like Akeelah and the Bee. As she navigated the pressures of fame, she felt increasingly torn between her ambitions and her strained family relationships.
While working on the set of True Jackson, VP at Nickelodeon, Palmer received a voicemail from a number she didn’t recognise. To her surprise, it was from Will Smith, who had reached out after learning about Palmer’s struggles through her lawyer. In the voicemail, Smith offered words of advice that would have a lasting impact on her:
“Hey, Keke. It’s Will. We’re over here doing Karate Kid with Jaden. I just want to let you know that I talked to [your lawyer]. He let me know everything you’re going through, and I want you to know sometimes it’s hard being the first, but you’ll get through.”
Smith concluded with a message Palmer still cherishes: “Just keep staying focused, love on your family, and y’all gonna be good.”
Palmer explained that the voicemail helped her realize the importance of family, and ultimately, she chose not to pursue emancipation. Reflecting on the message, Palmer said, “I think anyone who is a ‘first’ in their family could benefit from my experience. You could be a child entertainer or you could be the first person in your family to go to college or the first person in your family to get married. There’s so many firsts that can happen as the generations of your family continue to grow and evolve, and this was a difficult thing for me that I felt meant that I had to throw my family away.”
Now, Palmer acknowledges that her parents played a crucial role in helping her stay grounded. “I had a good community, that also my parents made sure I was around, that would encourage community and not dissension and us breaking apart,” she said. “I think, honestly, a lot of times [what happens] when you’re a kid entertainer is that people want to make money off of you, and they don’t want you close to your family.”
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