Reflecting on her time as a young Black child star on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson,VP, Keke Palmer stated that her experience was very different from her peers on other networks.
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Despite her success on the show, Palmer revealed during her interview with The Cut that she often felt limited in how she was perceived. “I wasn’t necessarily in the same conversations as Victoria Justice or Selena Gomez or Miley Cyrus at that time. It was very much ‘That’s the Black show’ or ‘That’s Keke Palmer, the Black girl on the network,’” she recalled. The Emmy-winning actress likened her experience to being the only Black student at her private school in Illinois, according to PEOPLE. A “loss of innocence” occurs, according to Palmer, when you become aware of your treatment as a child.
However, her perspective has changed since then, and she stated, “I don’t compare myself to anyone, but I definitely don’t compare myself to any White person.” Reflecting on her time in the industry, Palmer also spoke about the stark contrasts between working for Nickelodeon and Disney Channel.
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In an interview on the Toast podcast, the actress said Disney puts more effort into storytelling from marketing to its employees.
“They are literally like a whole universe, and I think that feels really good when you’re a kid because the magic doesn’t end. There’s an element that being a part of it is really, really fun. Disney has a way of making you feel like, ‘I need to be here. It’s something you want to be a part of.’ “
