"Wouldn't put Victoria Justice in this category" — Netizens react to Keke Palmer on not being in the same league as Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and more

On Tuesday, January 14, Keke Palmer's interview with The Cut for their January 2025 cover was published. At one point in the interview, Palmer opened up about how she "wasn't necessarily in the same conversations as" Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus during her early career, despite sharing a similar trajectory as them.

Palmer said:

"It was very much 'That’s the Black show' or 'That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network.' There is a loss of innocence that comes with the awareness that you’re treated differently that I’d accepted a long time ago."

The statement of the Imperial Dreams actress went viral on social media, with a @PopCrave tweet about it receiving 1.9 million views and 58K likes as of this writing. Netizens have been reacting to the same, with one of them commenting:

"Tbh i wouldn't put Victoria Justice in this category."

Some netizens called Palmer's statement "heartbreaking."

"Now that i think about it, keke palmer was on disney channel, had her own show in nick, and was known by the masses for starring in feature films… truly in a league of her own but the media wouldn’t let you realize that," commented an X user.

"Points were made. 'A loss of innocence' is such a heartbreaking way to put it, cause there's no going back. To Keke's point, Raven Symone should be hailed as Hollywood's elite, and well...," added another one.

"Hollywood's diversity problem ain't new, but Keke's calling it out with ZERO filter. Real recognize real - she turned those limitations into her superpower. Black excellence always finds a way to shine, no matter what box they try to put you in," wrote a netizen.

Meanwhile, others pointed out that the 31-year-old not being included in the same conversations as Cyrus, Victoria, or Gomez wasn't an issue of race.

"It’s not a race thing her show(s) just weren’t as popular. True Jackson lasted 2 season lol. Can’t even remember the other ones," posted one user.

"Please be serious Nobody looks at Victoria Justice as a bigger teen star than Keke Palmer," replied another.

"Ehhh That’s So Raven was a black show and that turned out very good. Raven is in all of those conversations," commented one netizen.

For the unversed, Palmer gained recognition for playing the lead in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP (2008-2011). Meanwhile, Keke Palmer also talked about her upcoming movie with SZA, One of Them Days, in her latest interview.

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Keke Palmer revealed that the script of her upcoming film went through four rewrites

In her interview with The Cut, Keke Palmer revealed that the script of her upcoming film with SZA went through four rewrites before they finalized it. The Enemiez singer added that one of the rewrites—where the studio had requested high jinks and more adventure—resulted in taking away from their characters' "soul."

Palmer continued:

"I had to really be specific about what needed to change, what the jokes were going to say, what story we’re telling about where these two characters come from. I was more than just an actor doing the role. I really cared about the project as a whole."

She went on to say that the upcoming buddy comedy also brought to the forefront a story of community, gentrification, and joy in the midst of hardship.

Talking about SZA and her journey in her feature-film debut, Keke Palmer said:

"A lot of people think musicians can’t act, but she’s just naturally hilarious. As vulnerable and excitable and eccentric as SZA is, she also is very serious, very brilliant, and a focused person."

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One of Them Days—the first project shared by SZA and Keke Palmer—is scheduled to drop at the box office this Friday, January 17, 2025.