Courtesy of Instagram/Keke PalmerI admit, I’ve never followed Keke Palmer’s career, though I may have seen a couple of episodes of her show True Jackson, VP when it aired on Nickelodeon.
However, after Monday’s (June 30) premiere of her new talk show Just Keke on BET, I have a new-found respect for the 20-year-old.
I read about her upcoming show a few weeks ago, and was intrigued by the idea of a talk show geared towards black youth. It’s something that didn’t exist before, although I honestly never thought much about it. Yes, there’s 106 & Park, but that has always been about showcasing artists and their music. What about everyone else?
The young host opened the show with some heartfelt, incredibly wise words:
My whole reasoning for doing this show was because I felt we were being talked about by everyone, but we had no defense. I feel like our generation gets a lot of flack for not having anything of substance to say, but if you aren’t giving us a place to say it, how do you expect to hear it? If you’re constantly putting us down, how do you expect us to rise? The truth is, no one can tell us anything about who and what we are because we are winners, and us being up here today proves that.
Simply put: I love the idea, and I loved the premiere.
The actress/singer’s first topic was Chris Brown’s song “Loyal,” and the dynamics between males and females in our generation that it exposes, whether purposely or not. Women are referred to as a degrading name throughout the entire song, for starters; and it brings up the issue of whether or not women are expected to remain loyal to men (especially in the industry), even if the men don’t want to commit and are never loyal themselves.
The show wasn’t entirely serious, though. From man crushes to a cyber battle between two rap groups from Los Angeles, Palmer kept things fun with the youth in her audience. What I also love is how engaged she was with her audience members; that happens to some degree on other talk shows, but it felt a lot more natural on Just Keke.
My favorite part was when Michael Ealy (Palmer’s confessed celebrity crush) surprised her with a visit, and personally congratulated her on her accomplishments.
As a 21-year-old Caribbean woman myself, I felt a connection to the show immediately. Palmer was right when she said that, as young men and women of color, we don’t really get much of a voice. I’m fortunate enough to have the privilege to express my opinions through writing, but on her show, it can happen vocally as well.
Palmer has received congratulations and praise from all over the black entertainment community as well as from Kevin Hart to Wendy Raquel Robinson. There was a strong sense of family, which was also a great thing to see.
Congratulations to Miss Palmer on becoming the youngest talk show host in television history! We here at PopWrapped wish you continued success.
Future episodes of the show will focus on different issues relevant to the younger generation, like the heartbreaking tragedy surrounding Trayvon Martin, “haters,” and relationships.
You can check out Just Keke weekdays at 5 p.m. on BET.
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