Keke Palmer Clashed With ‘Scream Queens’ Co-Star On Set

For most, Keke Palmer is known for her work on screen and has also worked on music throughout her career.

Well now, the mother of one is about to release a book titled Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative. The memoir will be Palmer’s second book, and she is getting personal with her fans as she delves into different moments that happened throughout her career.

One moment, which she already shared with the Los Angeles Times in a Nov. 10 interview, stems from the time she worked on Ryan Murphy’s horror series Scream Queens. Palmer describes an incident where Murphy “ripped” into her over her absence on set. 

According to the LA Times, Palmer wrote in the book “how she’d been given her shooting schedule and arranged to fulfill another business obligation on a day off. But when that day rolled around, production told her that she was actually needed on set. She decided to keep her prior obligation, which resulted in an angry phone call with Murphy in which he ‘ripped’ into her and told her she was unprofessional.”

“It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office,” Palmer said, recalling the moment. “He was like, ‘I’ve never seen you behave like this. I can’t believe that you, out of all people, would do something like this.’”

By Palmer’s account, she said she did apologize to Murphy and explained that she had scheduled another obligation. After that she thought everything was squashed. But days later, Palmer was chatting with one of her costars about it and the costar hinted that Murphy was still upset over it. 

“I said, ‘Ryan talked to me and I guess he’s cool, it’s fine,’ and she was like, ‘It’s bad,’ trying to make me scared or something, which was a little irritating,” Palmer described. 

Palmer was hoping that by working with the American Horror Story creator on Scream Queens that she would be able to earn more roles in Murphy’s projects and become an actor “you keep seeing in Ryan’s world.” But she believes the incident regarding her absence on set may have prevented that. 

Anyone familiar with Murphy’s work knows he is well-known for keeping actors around and bringing them along to work in his other shows. Some of the consistent actors who’ve shown up in multiple of his projects are Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts – who was also a main character in Scream Queens, Evan Peters and as of later years and projects, Niecy Nash. 

In the memoir, Palmer wrote, “I’m still not sure Ryan cared, or got it, and that’s okay because he was just centering his business, which isn’t a problem to me. But what I do know is even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I, too, see myself as a business.”

But that’s not the only shocking event that occurred during Palmer’s time on Scream Queens. She also remembered a time when a co-worker hurled a racist remark her way after she tried to bring peace to a situation. 

Keeping the costar anonymous, Palmer refers to her as “Brenda.” Brenda was having a disagreement with someone else on set and Palmer attempted to diffuse the argument and told everyone to “have fun and respect each other.”

“Brenda” then responded, “Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin f—— Luther King?”

While reflecting, Palmer said, “It was such a weighted thing that she said, but I didn’t allow that weight to be projected on me, because I know who I am. I’m not no victim. That’s not my storyline, sweetie. I don’t care what her ass said. If I allow what she said to cripple me, then she would.”

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