Keke Palmer on 'Master of Me', Queen Latifah's mentorship, & uplifting Black queer people

New York Times bestselling author and actress Keke Palmer held a talkback for her latest book, Master of Me, before a packed audience of devoted fans at the Vision Cathedral of Atlanta this weekend. The beloved personality in the city filming her latest movie, I Love Boosters, with director Boots Riley, was thrilled to be in the town that holds a special place in her heart.

“It’s always good to be in Atlanta; it’s like a second home to me,” Palmer shared. “One of my first movies I did here when I was 10 years old was Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion, so I love being here.”

Known for her advocacy and vocal support for marginalized communities, Palmer took the opportunity during her book tour to discuss the crucial role the queer dollar plays in shifting Hollywood’s focus toward greater LGBTQ+ representation.

“Trying to make a traditional system, or a system that’s already been in place, notice you or acknowledge you—it’s like throwing rocks at a tall building,” Palmer explained, underscoring the challenge of breaking through entrenched barriers. “It doesn’t mean you have to stop fighting, but it does mean you might have to start fighting differently.”

She further addressed the specific struggles of being both Black and queer in an industry that often sidelines Black and brown LGBTQ+ talent.

“I hate that there's no easy thing for being Black and queer, or being a Black woman, being non-binary — being all the things that you can't be if you're not white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed. It’s very tough,” Palmer said. “The truth is, we can’t force anybody to respect what they don’t respect. But you know what? I can take my money elsewhere.”

Palmer also opened up about the profound impact of mentorship on her career, particularly from iconic figures like Queen Latifah, who has been instrumental in her professional growth.

“Then I get a call from [Queen Latifah] a couple of years later, where she wants me to do a movie that we can produce together. It’s a movie called Brotherly Love,” Palmer recalled. “But it was a very small budget, so my fee was going to be cut in half. However, I just wanted to get the opportunity to have my name as a producer—something I was trying to break into alongside the likes of Queen Latifah,” Palmer said. “It was allowing me to exercise another skill I hadn’t before. After I did Brotherly Love three years later, when I was having the toughest time in my career, she doubled my quote. And back in those days, actors could only get paid based on what they got paid before. So if your quote was $20K, people could keep paying you $20K for the rest of your life until somebody raised it, and Queen did that for me.”

Reflecting on the challenges and rewards of her career, Palmer also passionately advocated for solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, a deeply personal cause.

“I think it's extraordinarily important because that’s what I believe in,” Palmer said. “I can’t tell nobody else what to believe. I mean, that’s my community. So I feel like it’s important to get out there and support. If you let other people get marginalized and let other people get disrespected and stomped on, you will too.”

So this whole idea that just because you don’t belong to the group—whether you’re gay, Black, a woman, whatever it is—we gotta all step up when somebody's stepping up on one of us,” Palmer stated.

Master of Me is now available at all major retailers.