So, Keke Palmer, our ultimate scream queen and real-life goddess, is here with a whole pot of piping-hot tea straight from her new memoir, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative. The book’s a tell-all, and honey, she is telling all about what went down on the set of Scream Queens, where things apparently got spicier than a ghost pepper.
The Ryan Murphy Showdown
Picture it: Keke Palmer, young and fabulous, juggling a million projects like the multi-talented queen she is. She’s trying to honor her shooting schedule on Scream Queens while also checking off business obligations, when—plot twist!—she gets a “Nope, actually we do need you on set” message on what she thought was her day off. So Keke, being Keke, decides she’ll handle her other gig, figuring, “Hey, it’s my day off, right?” Wrong. Cue: Angry Ryan Murphy.
In her book, Keke describes Murphy’s call as something straight out of a nightmare. Imagine your high school principal calling you to the office, only it’s Ryan Murphy in full Hollywood mode, giving her a verbal spanking over the phone like she’d stolen his last Emmy. “It was like I was back in school,” she laughs, recounting how Murphy scolded her for being “unprofessional.” He allegedly laid it on thick, saying he “couldn’t believe” that she’d act like this. Clearly, he was pulling out the Big Disappointment Energy on Keke.
Being the total class act she is, Keke apologized and thought all was well… until a co-star swooped in, acting like they’d just returned from reading the future in a crystal ball. “Oh, girl, it’s bad,” the co-star told her, in full dramatic mode, which, let’s be honest, had to be a tad irritating. Keke says that from there, she got the feeling that her Ryan Murphy dream sequence (starring alongside Emma Roberts and Sarah Paulson, naturally) might be coming to a close. Still, Keke’s got the last word: “Even if I never work with him again, at least he knows I see myself as a business, too!” Boom. Keke = 1, Awkward Hollywood Power Play = 0.
When “Brenda” Crossed the Line
Now here’s where the real tea comes out. In another chapter of her book, Keke spills on an incident with a white co-star, whom she calls “Brenda” (because we’re keeping it anonymous, right?). Brenda apparently thought it’d be super cute to throw out a racist remark. Yikes.
One day, Brenda was having a meltdown over a clash with another cast member, so Keke tried to play peacekeeper, like, “Hey, let’s keep it cool and respectful, y’all!” To which “Brenda” snapped back with, “Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin F— Luther King?”
Uh. Yeah. Brenda went there. But our girl Keke was not fazed. Rather than turn it into a full-blown drama, she decided to laugh off Brenda’s sad attempt at a roast. “It was a heavy statement, but honey, I’m too light for that weight,” Keke wrote, channeling her inner zen goddess. She wasn’t about to let Brenda’s nonsense make her question herself. “I know who I am. I’m not no victim. That’s not my storyline, sweetie,” Keke said, and we all felt that power.
Bottom line? Keke Palmer, once again, handled it all like the queen she is. Even with all the diva moments, “Brenda” drama, and off-the-charts Hollywood chaos, she’s here, owning her narrative, laughing her way to the top, and letting the rest roll right off her like water off a duck’s back. And we’re all just here for the show, basking in her glow.
