Pod Insights Baby, this is Keke Palmer Nia Long on Love, the 90’s & Michael Jackson About this episode Nia Long pulls up and it quickly turns into two besties at a sleepover! We’re talking dating with intention and fun, pouring into yourself as a mother, and stepping into the iconic role of matriarch Catherine Jackson in 'Michael.' Nia and Keke revisit why the ’90s were THAT era (including the time she met Michael Jackson himself!) and celebrate the films that defined a generation, from 'The Best Man' to 'Soul Food' to 'Boyz n the Hood.' Some things never go out of style… and Nia Long is definitely one of them.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript 13,891 words · 2 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Keke Palmer? My guest today is beauty personified, a legendary actress with a film catalog that touches every facet of black love, friendship, family, and sisterhood. She stole our hearts as Nina in Love Jones to find an era in The Best Man, and now she's stepping into the matriarchal role of Katherine Jackson in Michael. For decades, she has carried a softness and a strength, a quiet power that always filled the room. She's built a life while raising two sons and remains a symbol of grace and presence in every chapter. Yes, the Nia Long. And today, we're getting into the woman behind the glow. Because, baby, this is Keke Palmer.
1:11 Keke Palmer? OK, guys, please welcome the one, the only, Nia Long.
1:19 Speaker 01 My girl, my girl.
1:22 Speaker 01 Kiki, do you love me? All day, all day.
1:28 Keke Palmer? Aw, hi, babe. So good to have you on the podcast.
1:31 Speaker 01 Oh, I'm so happy to be here.
1:33 Keke Palmer? You look so stunning. I say this every time I see you. I'm like, she's sick of it. Here's a story, everybody. So let's get into these little pre-show pull-up questions. So your zodiac sign, I've always known, is a Scorpio. But I'm gagged to see that your sun and moon are both a Scorpio. And then your rising is a Virgo.
1:53 Speaker 01 So good. It's so good, because I like to clean. It explains why I'm organized. I'm a hyper achiever. You know?
2:02 Keke Palmer? Now, what parts of you feel very Scorpio? If any, do you relate to the signs at all?
2:05 Speaker 01 I do. I believe in astrology. I think probably I'm a deep thinker. I prefer to be solo than run in a pack.
2:15 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
2:18 Speaker 01 If I [BLEEP] with you, I [BLEEP] with you. If I don't, I don't. I mean...
2:22 Keke Palmer? I'm so glad you [BLEEP] with me.
2:25 Keke Palmer? I don't want to be on the other end, let me tell you.
2:30 Speaker 01 I could have used nicer words, but I mean, we're just being, having an honest conversation.
2:34 Keke Palmer? Exactly.
2:35 Speaker 01 No, I mean, listen, I am, I, I believe that everyone deserves a 10 in the beginning.
2:42 Keke Palmer? Yes.
2:43 Speaker 01 I, I wanna believe that we are good humans. I wanna believe that we do the right thing. I wanna believe that we love and respect one another. But it doesn't always work out that way. And I think after being in this industry for so long, you kinda just have to pause and go, okay, I don't need to be friends with every single person. And every single person doesn't have to like me. And then you choose your tribe, right? That's a real thing. And I think it's healthy.
3:08 Keke Palmer? Yeah, and I think I've learned too, a lot of times we feel like our industry, we, like, because it's our industry, we have to connect to everybody. But it's like,
3:15 Speaker 01 It doesn't work that way.
3:16 Keke Palmer? Yeah, your crew might be a bunch of people that are in art, into art museums, or it might be into finance.
3:21 Speaker 01 Absolutely.
3:21 Keke Palmer? It doesn't mean just because we all do the same thing, we gonna get along.
3:24 Speaker 01 Yeah.
3:25 Keke Palmer? I had to learn that the hard way.
3:26 Speaker 01 Yes, and I think you keep your old friends from back in the day, and they keep things centered and focused and real. And then you meet new friends along the way. The thing is, is to be inspired.
3:35 Keke Palmer? Yes.
3:36 Speaker 01 Who inspires you to be the best version of yourself? Who's supporting that growth?
3:40 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, yes, that growth. Cause some people, I've realized too, I was just talking about this to somebody. Some people relate to you on growth, and then some people, you have a form of recognition in stagnation.
3:52 Speaker 01 Yes.
3:53 Keke Palmer? Where the, they're hitting this hurt point, where it's like, this is the only place that we can vibe together. Is thinking about all the things we've been through, and how hard it's been.
4:02 Speaker 01 No one wants to be in that rut.
4:03 Keke Palmer? No, and it's like,
4:05 Speaker 01 We are growing women, and we are evolving women. And it doesn't mean that you don't love the people from your past. It just means that some people, you know, I, this is a kind of a funny, sad thing where, have you ever looked back at like, people that maybe you went to high school with, or that you've known from the past, and, and they were like the most popular girl at school?
4:28 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
4:28 Speaker 01 And you wanted to be them?
4:30 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
4:31 Speaker 01 And then you see them years later, and you're like, oh, no, what happened?
4:36 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
4:37 Speaker 01 I'm like, who is that in my class?
4:41 Keke Palmer? I got the names.
4:44 Speaker 01 But no, but, but it's a choice to evolve is my point. And if we stop, we become stagnant, we don't grow. And then you're like, how can I be at my best self if this is where I'm stopping? So I think it's important to like,
4:59 Keke Palmer? Yes.
5:00 Speaker 01 have these conversations and also encourage the people who may need that. Encourage the friends who may need that.
5:06 Keke Palmer? Yes, I couldn't agree with you more.
5:09 Speaker 01 That was a very long answer, by the way.
5:10 Keke Palmer? But it was great.
5:11 Speaker 01 It's supposed to be quick. It's a pull up, it's not a spend the night.
5:14 Keke Palmer? But also, I like to spend the night. I like that it becomes a sleepover.
5:18 Speaker 01 Well, we need some slippers.
5:19 Keke Palmer? I think about me and you at the 15% pledge. We're walking out and we're like, we're planning a sleepover.
5:25 Speaker 01 And we said that.
5:26 Keke Palmer? So that has to happen, yes.
5:28 Speaker 01 We need to do it. And I'll bring Kev so then he can look after your boy and they can have their moment.
5:32 Keke Palmer? I just live for the boy momma at all.
5:34 Speaker 01 I know, it's so good.
5:35 Keke Palmer? He pulled up, I think, that night, picking you up.
5:37 Speaker 01 Mass I did.
5:38 Keke Palmer? Mass I did, yes, it's the coolest thing. I said, that's my son, like, honey, I've been at the party.
5:42 Speaker 01 I'm like, time to go. Yes. Listen, I'm saving money.
5:46 Keke Palmer? Okay.
5:47 Speaker 01 Listen, no car service, he is the car service.
5:51 Keke Palmer? What are you most grateful for today? Wake up with joy in my heart and good health. I mean, what else could you say?
5:56 Speaker 01 I, I, I feel that way every, I try to, I try to pause every morning.
6:02 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
6:03 Speaker 01 And just feel that. It's easy to say, but you have to feel it.
6:09 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
6:10 Speaker 01 Because that's where the manifestation of good things starts, is by feeling that. And knowing, I can imagine even with your schedule, that you probably sometimes feel like, how am I gonna do all of this today? And I find when I feel that way and I start with that, it's actually the fuel that I need to do it and feel good and know that like, I'm just gonna take a breath and pause.
6:35 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
6:37 Speaker 01 And it does, cuz really what I realize I used to do a lot is the movie that I made in my head about what needed to be done was way more dramatic than what actually needed to be done.
6:49 Keke Palmer? Yes.
6:50 Speaker 01 So I stopped that. That you gotta quiet the noise in your head and just be, just be grateful.
6:54 Keke Palmer? You do seem like every time that I've been around you, you always have this sense of pacing. How do you keep things slowed down? Cuz it's not like you're moving slow, but you kind of have a presence about yourself where it's like that chaos ain't over here.
7:08 Speaker 01 I can't do it. I look at you and I'm like, what? This baby is, is made of magic.
7:16 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh.
7:17 Speaker 01 Because every time I see you, and what I love about you is you're fearless. You will say what you think, you, you stand for what you believe in. You will, will speak on things that maybe are uncomfortable but necessary. And that is brave.
7:32 Keke Palmer? Thank you.
7:33 Speaker 01 It's brave for us women to do those things. I think for me, I wish I had that thing where I could just go, go, go, go, go. I, I'm in the bed at like 9:30.
7:44 Keke Palmer? That's fabulous.
7:45 Speaker 01 I am like 9:30. Oh, my son is like, are you going upstairs? Yep, gots to go.
7:51 Keke Palmer? I think that's important.
7:52 Speaker 01 Quiet time.
7:53 Keke Palmer? Because you still have everything from how I look at you, you know what I mean? And you don't operate from that thing that we do often see that I think some people use me as an example of where we're always this hyper functioning, which is fine. I think there's seasons of that. It's great. It's cool.
8:09 Speaker 01 When you hit 50, you're gonna be like, Nia.
8:11 Keke Palmer? Right, I'm done with this.
8:12 Speaker 01 What should we do now to, cuz I'm trying to come on your side.
8:15 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean?
8:16 Speaker 01 It's a different thing.
8:17 Keke Palmer? And I feel like you've always had that, you know what I mean? And you've always been very successful. So I think it's important cuz everybody don't have to move like that.
8:25 Speaker 01 With urgency.
8:26 Keke Palmer? You don't have to to still get what you want. That's important.
8:29 Speaker 01 There's two, yeah, there's two thoughts, right? I, but I also think, let's talk about the world that we're living in right now. We are in a world where we're getting constant information. So that constant information on our phones make us feel like we actually really need to be in this state of urgency all the time.
8:48 Keke Palmer? Yes.
8:49 Speaker 01 I didn't come from that generation. If there were cell phones with me in the 90s in New York City, do you not understand the stories that would be? I was naughty.
9:01 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, girl, I would have lived to be back there with you.
9:05 Speaker 01 We had fun and nobody knew.
9:08 Keke Palmer? Were you at the clubs? Were you at the, like, just like fashion show? Like, what was your vibe?
9:12 Speaker 01 I was definitely at the clubs. I was definitely at the clubs. I was definitely hanging out with boys I had no business hanging out with. You know, I was in the streets.
9:24 Keke Palmer? I love that, girl. Because you are the quintessential it girl. I mean, you are. I mean, I know that must be ridiculous when people... It's true.
9:34 Speaker 01 But that's, I mean, but like, I don't know.
9:37 Keke Palmer? I cannot tell a lie. Call me Abe Lincoln.
9:41 Keke Palmer? We're gonna get to that. Okay, we still did, we, girl, we really been not pulled up. We been at the sleepover with this. Let's get to the end of this. Okay.
9:49 Keke Palmer? We've been on this, girl. We keep keying, like, okay, what's a question you wish you were asked more in interviews? This is good. What I would be doing if I wasn't an actor. Okay. So what would you be doing if you were an actor?
10:04 Speaker 01 I think I'd be a therapist.
10:07 Keke Palmer? Girl, I'm already on the couch.
10:08 Speaker 01 I think I'd be a ther... But I wouldn't have been a therapist 10 years ago or 20 years ago. I'd be a therapist now because I have such a better understanding of self. I have a better understanding of grace. I have a better understanding of how to get to your truth. And so I don't think you could be helped to anyone else if you don't know how to do that for yourself.
10:30 Keke Palmer? How do you get to your truth is really, really hard.
10:32 Speaker 01 It's so hard.
10:33 Keke Palmer? It's like a series, because a lot of times in your mind, you have a lot of pseudo emotions. I feel like it's what, I think I read that when I was reading, like, Eckhart Tolle, one of his books, where you're always in this surface point where it's like, you might think you're angry or you're up, you know, you're, you like this, or you want fame, or you want these things that are surface, but really, it's like, actually, I want to be seen.
10:53 Speaker 01 Yeah, or I need love.
10:55 Keke Palmer? I need love.
10:55 Speaker 01 Or I feel insecure. I don't feel powerful. So, right, so getting to the core of that emotion.
11:01 Keke Palmer? That is tough.
11:02 Speaker 01 That's the work.
11:03 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
11:03 Speaker 01 That's the work.
11:05 Keke Palmer? This next one, I'm very jealous about.
11:06 Speaker 01 I don't even know. I don't remember what it is.
11:08 Keke Palmer? Who is someone you met that made you feel starstruck? You met Michael Jackson.
11:13 Speaker 01 I met Michael Jackson.
11:15 Keke Palmer? When did you meet Michael Jackson?
11:16 Speaker 01 I met Michael Jackson at a Stevie Wonder concert with John Singleton, and I couldn't speak.
11:26 Speaker 01 Nia, I literally couldn't speak. And you know when someone's standing next to you and you're like, that's not Michael Jackson. That's like a look alike. Impersonator.
11:35 Keke Palmer? Cause he always had one too.
11:37 Speaker 01 He's got like 20 of them.
11:38 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
11:39 Speaker 01 And now they're about to really come out, girl. We gonna see like 99, 100.
11:43 Keke Palmer? I'm so excited for that movie. There's this one impersonator of Michael Jackson where he literally would go around and look at other Michael Jacksons and be like, good job. Like he's the real Michael. Like he's the real Michael.
11:55 Speaker 01 That is so nerdy.
11:56 Keke Palmer? He's so funny. He walks around and he's like, he's good. It's like, you're not Michael either.
12:01 Speaker 01 Setting the bar for the rest of the Michaels. He's gonna see this and be like, they're talking about me.
12:07 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, he's definitely gonna post this. He is good with his digital. I'll tell you that.
12:10 Speaker 01 Oh, well, he's all over this then.
12:11 Keke Palmer? Okay.
12:12 Speaker 01 He's coming over for the sleepover next time.
12:15 Keke Palmer? Last one, what's a mantra you live by and why? Mind my business. I don't need the noise. Okay.
12:22 Speaker 01 Now that's the third F-bomb in one interview.
12:26 Keke Palmer? That's what I'm talking about. Period. I don't need the noise.
12:29 Speaker 01 I don't need the noise.
12:30 Keke Palmer? The noise is heavy.
12:32 Speaker 01 The noise will break you down.
12:34 Keke Palmer? Girl.
12:35 Speaker 01 The noise will break you down.
12:37 Keke Palmer? So growing up, you moved from Brooklyn to Iowa City.
12:40 Speaker 01 Yeah.
12:41 Keke Palmer? Those feel very different in my mind.
12:42 Speaker 01 They were very different.
12:43 Keke Palmer? Like, cause what's in Iowa?
12:45 Speaker 01 So my mom went to the University of Iowa. She got her masters there. She's a painter. She...
12:50 Keke Palmer? Fabulous.
12:50 Speaker 01 Yeah, so you know, this was during a time where, you know, scholarships were given and, and young black artists were... She got a full scholarship.
13:00 Keke Palmer? Two masters in fine arts.
13:01 Speaker 01 Yeah.
13:02 Keke Palmer? Incredible.
13:03 Speaker 01 Yeah.
13:03 Keke Palmer? I mean, how do you feel like going from those places impacted or shaped how you looked at, you know, work ethic and adaptability? Just seeing your mom as a single mom handle all that?
13:13 Speaker 01 It's so crazy sitting here talking to you because you're like my baby in my mind, like my little tiny baby that was like my little baby sister. And now like you're like, does everyone say that to you when they come on the show? Well, I just had a moment when I was like, oh my gosh, you're like a full woman now. And a mommy. Okay, sorry. I'm sorry. I just blacked out like real quick.
13:37 Speaker 01 Okay, um, so I think, okay, so yes, there was a culture shock.
13:41 Keke Palmer? For sure, right?
13:42 Speaker 01 So I'm in Brooklyn, my grandparents are Caribbean.
13:46 Keke Palmer? Oh, where, from Trinidad, period.
13:48 Speaker 01 Barbados, Grenada.
13:49 Keke Palmer? I knew you had the island, because you gonna get somebody in check fast.
13:52 Speaker 01 Quick.
13:52 Keke Palmer? That's that island.
13:54 Speaker 01 Yes! There's some hot pepper sauce at any time.
13:58 Keke Palmer? I love that so bad.
13:59 Speaker 01 Don't play with me.
14:01 Keke Palmer? I love that.
14:02 Speaker 01 We don't play them games, you know?
14:05 Keke Palmer? So we're in Brooklyn.
14:06 Speaker 01 Yeah, and so then my, so then my mother got a full scholarship to go to the University of Iowa. She took the scholarship, she went to Cooper Union in New York, she went to Howard. And so she was a single mom, we, you know, we got there and it was very white.
14:20 Keke Palmer? Right, yeah.
14:21 Speaker 01 And I was the only little black girl in my school, I think there was like maybe six black children in the whole school. And this was a K through 12 school. And I experienced racism and I experienced hate and I experienced definitely a a sense of, of, of identity that I, I did not, I, I was not very sure of who I was.
14:43 Keke Palmer? Wow.
14:44 Speaker 01 And I had a lost sense of my own identity. And, and at times, like, what it meant to be black in America in the 1970s, because that was a very important time for us. And it wasn't until I got to LA and I landed in South Central that I really understood what black people were going through, because it was in front of me. I knew what I had gone through in Iowa. But being in a community of black people where I was often teased for speaking proper.
15:11 Keke Palmer? Right.
15:12 Speaker 01 Or teased for having a little bit of a different look that didn't really fit with the light-skinned girls or the dark-skinned girls. And being like, the colorism, right? Like, these are the things that we understand as black women.
15:24 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
15:24 Speaker 01 And so, yeah.
15:26 Keke Palmer? So when you moved to LA, when you moved to South Central, how old were you and was this immediately about you and your career? Were you still kind of just coasting through?
15:35 Speaker 01 I was nine.
15:36 Keke Palmer? You were nine, yes, so you were nine when you moved.
15:37 Speaker 01 Nine, I was a baby.
15:38 Keke Palmer? So you were still quite young, yeah.
15:39 Speaker 01 Yeah, I was really young. And I didn't start acting, like, taking my first acting class, I was about 12.
15:45 Keke Palmer? Wow.
15:46 Speaker 01 Yeah, I was about 12.
15:47 Keke Palmer? How did that into, was it because your mom already was an artist that that seemed like an available option for you? Because I feel like a lot of people don't know, hey, you could be a kid actor. I mean, I think it's popular now, especially Disney, Nickelodeon, all that stuff. But like, what made you think I could be a kid actor?
16:02 Speaker 01 Well, I was, I was always kind of interested in show business, but not because I wanted to be a star. I just, I just thought like, well, if they can do it, I can do it too. And my mother was also really big into R and B music back then. And so I saw women like Whitney Houston, but also women like, it was Whitney, it was Barbra Streisand. It was Minnie Riperton, it was Phyllis Hyman, it was Patrice Rush. Yes, it was Patrice Rush. And these were all the women that I, I would see just on album covers in our home in Iowa. So when I got to LA and I started like, you know, meeting the girls from around the way. We would do, you know how you had your crew and you do like dance routines on the porch?
16:47 Keke Palmer? Of course, that's TikTok now.
16:49 Speaker 01 It's TikTok. Girl, we, I had the.
16:52 Keke Palmer? We've been doing it.
16:53 Speaker 01 We've been do, where's the camera?
16:58 Speaker 01 Y'all like, y'all don't know nothing about this.
17:02 Speaker 01 But we had the, I had the OG boombox with the cassette tapes and solid gold, remember solid gold?
17:09 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, that's OG, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying.
17:12 Speaker 01 So I, and I started at the YMCA. My babysitter would take me to the YMCA and I would perform there. And one day I was like, I want to take an acting class. And so I took an acting class at LACC, Community College. And then I met Regina King at high school.
17:30 Keke Palmer? And Regina had already been on 227 by then, would you say?
17:33 Speaker 01 Not quite yet, but she was definitely there.
17:38 Keke Palmer? Wow.
17:38 Speaker 01 And, and working. And so one day she invited me to a class and, and it stuck. It stuck.
17:45 Keke Palmer? That is so cool. As, would you say that's when you thought, this is my dream? Like this is, I'm going to be an actor professionally?
17:54 Speaker 01 Honestly, like, acting class was very therapeutic for me.
17:59 Keke Palmer? Interesting.
17:59 Speaker 01 Because I was able to explore my emotions through scene work.
18:05 Speaker 01 And that was a little bit of like, you could work through some things. Single mom, my dad wasn't really around. You know, you're dealing with abandonment issues. You're dealing with growing up in Iowa as a young black girl. You're, you're, you've experienced racism. You, you understand what segregation is. You're trying to come into your own, but you're also in a black community with people that aren't totally accepting me as I was.
18:31 Keke Palmer? Wow.
18:32 Speaker 01 So there was a lot to uncover and to understand.
18:35 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
18:35 Speaker 01 And there weren't conversations. We didn't talk about that stuff. We just felt it.
18:40 Keke Palmer? Yes, like, I mean, I think it's so, it's so crazy how words can give clarity and almost relief. Like, when I think about the language we have now with, like, microaggressions or structural systemic racism. Like, we didn't have, it was just like, this feel weird.
18:54 Speaker 01 And deal with it.
18:54 Keke Palmer? Something going on.
18:55 Speaker 01 And deal with it.
18:56 Keke Palmer? They said my hair crunchy. You know, like, there was nothing more that you could go, and then the whole, like, you know, Oreo or the concept of code switching. You know, at a young age, I knew very early on, you know, my parents put us in private school because they wanted us to have a better education.
19:09 Speaker 01 Yep.
19:10 Keke Palmer? My sister and I both were the only black kids in our class. We're four years apart.
19:13 Speaker 01 What school was, did you go to?
19:14 Keke Palmer? St. Benedict in Blue Island.
19:15 Speaker 01 I went to St. Mary's.
19:16 Keke Palmer? Okay.
19:17 Speaker 01 For a hot second, and then I got into a fight with a senior and got kicked out.
19:20 Keke Palmer? Uh-oh.
19:21 Speaker 01 Yeah, it was weird.
19:21 Keke Palmer? That was at Trinity.
19:22 Speaker 01 It was Trini Cave. Trini said, "I don't care if you're senior."
19:30 Keke Palmer? Girl, period, because what did you do with messing with me?
19:32 Speaker 01 Well, this is the thing. It's like, no one wants to be bullied and no one wants to be talked about or, you know.
19:39 Keke Palmer? I became funny. You know what I mean? My sister was, "You white girl, full eyes," and I was like, "Oh, [BLEEP] it won't be me."
19:47 Speaker 01 So you performed.
19:49 Keke Palmer? Right. I performed because that was my safety. So I really relate to you on those characters, those, that gave me an opportunity to express and play with themes
20:00 Speaker 01 Yeah.
20:00 Keke Palmer? of emotions and things I couldn't have otherwise accessed. So it's like, yeah.
20:05 Speaker 01 And we weren't, there, there wasn't a space for us to... Think enough about ourselves to even explore what we were feeling. It was like survival. I mean, even though I went to private school and even though my parents did what they could do and my mother worked really hard and my grandmother and grandparents provided. That we were still, and at least I know I was, I, we were still my family, we were in the mindset of survival. And when you are constantly trying to survive, there is no room for self-exploration. And so that becomes the thing that as an adult, as you become a mother, as you deal with relationships that are trying and and poke you and
20:49 Speaker 01 when those things happen, though, it's such a blessing. Because those are the things that make you stop to try to seek understanding.
20:57 Keke Palmer? Yes.
20:58 Speaker 01 And so you can never look at anything that happens in your life as, as bad or good. It's just part of the journey.
21:07 Keke Palmer? I love everything you're saying, especially as, and even to people that don't have children, I do, but I will say for me, having my son has done just that, especially when we think about themes around like survival and continuity over just like embodied experience and presence.
21:23 Speaker 01 Absolutely.
21:24 Keke Palmer? The concept of like rest as something that you shouldn't have to work to have or receive, but it's something that you give yourself.
21:31 Speaker 01 You hit the gift.
21:32 Keke Palmer? And have, have that safety in that. That's something that I've really been thinking a lot about because yeah, like you think about lineage and it's like so many of us were just taught to survive.
21:42 Speaker 01 Yes.
21:43 Keke Palmer? Just to make it to the next day.
21:44 Speaker 01 And that's it. And, and, and you weren't even allowed to stop and pause and check in with yourself. So that thing that you're talking about, that slowing down, it's because I require that of myself for myself.
22:00 Speaker 01 And it's a little bit difficult to do, I think, when you have younger children. But you're gonna wake up one day and you're gonna go, oh. I'm back. That part of me that had to give and give and give and give to this little being, now you're able to look and go, oh, he's there. And then you start pouring back into yourself. Unless you do like me and have another one 15 years later. I was like, what was I thinking? Kids are so far apart.
22:29 Keke Palmer? At what age would you say, or at least with your first, I know you said you already have, not the second one, it became the same thing. But like, what age did he get to where you were kind of feeling like, we had, you know, it's viable, we're how old?
22:41 Speaker 01 It's like nine.
22:43 Keke Palmer? Oof, we got some time.
22:44 Speaker 01 You got time, girl.
22:47 Keke Palmer? She said 20.
22:49 Speaker 01 And then, no, no. And then it happens again and again and again. So with each stage, you know, you pull back that thing as a, you know. I wouldn't say I'm a helicopter mom, but I'm definitely in all of that business.
23:04 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:06 Speaker 01 So you just pull back a little. And then they prove to you that they can handle the independence. And then you give them a little more. And as you're taking away, you're pouring back into yourself because you got to stay fine.
23:20 Keke Palmer? You've got to stay fine.
23:22 Speaker 01 You've got to stay fine. There will be.
23:25 Keke Palmer? That is the realist.
23:27 Speaker 01 There will be, no, well, because we're in an industry where like, we're not really allowed to fall off. You have to.
23:35 Keke Palmer? And I do actually love that push. You know, I love the push, keep me together.
23:39 Speaker 01 Yes.
23:40 Keke Palmer? Because I don't want to be just like, you know, so sometimes.
23:43 Speaker 01 You can't be the girl, what's the girl in high school?
23:45 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, yeah. We're going to beep the last name, but you know who you are.
23:49 Speaker 01 You know who you are.
23:50 Keke Palmer? She know what she did.
23:51 Speaker 01 She knows what she did.
23:52 Keke Palmer? Yeah, no, she was mad because [BLEEP] liked me.
23:55 Speaker 01 You know what? I have so many of those.
23:58 Keke Palmer? You mad?
23:59 Speaker 01 Why are you mad?
24:00 Keke Palmer? Okay, now, you ended up telling yourself, if you didn't have a consistent acting job, by the time that you got your high school diploma, you'd go to university.
24:09 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:10 Keke Palmer? But you ended up landing a job.
24:11 Speaker 01 I did.
24:19 Keke Palmer? Do you hear that? Baby, a warm getaway must be calling my name because spring has officially sprung. We're saying bye-bye to endless winter layers and hello to sunny beach season. I finally have a little time off coming up and with my crazy schedule, that's rare. So, I'm thinking of a long weekend escape with my family. The question is coastal Santa Barbara vibes or desert stay in Palm Springs? All I know is that when I'm planning a trip, booking a stay on Airbnb just makes everything easier. I just love having a whole house to ourselves. We can each have our own space, no cramped hotel rooms to worry about, and come together for fun movie marathons or epic game nights in the living room.
25:02 Keke Palmer? Everyone can be as loud as they want because things can get competitive, y'all. And let's face it, a meal is better shared around a table than a bed, especially when it's my dad's cooking. But here's the real magic. We get to play locals, wandering through neighborhood parks and popping into all the best family-owned, under-the-radar restaurants on the recommendations of our lovely super host. Mmm, you already know I love a good food tour moment. So, if you're planning spring or summer getaways with your favorite people, find a stay on Airbnb. Trust me, that home away from home feeling can't be topped.
25:40 Keke Palmer? And that job was the Guiding Light?
25:41 Speaker 01 That job was the Guiding Light.
25:43 Keke Palmer? So, how was that for you? Because did you feel like, did you expect to get a job? Or were you kind of like testing yourself? Like, was there true belief that you'd be able to make it a real thing?
25:54 Speaker 01 Listen, again, I was in survival mode. I was like, I've done two, I graduated high school early. I went to Santa Monica College, did two years. I had a plan for myself. And I was very deliberate about my plan very early on. And so, I said, if I don't get a job by this point, I'm gonna go back to school and get my degree. But I was so close to so many things that I felt like, maybe I don't need to go to college. Maybe the, and so Guiding Light ultimately became four years of university. Hands-on experience.
26:27 Keke Palmer? Wow, yes. What are the things that you remember from working on that show that you feel like?
26:31 Speaker 01 I remember cameras everywhere, but they were moving. I remember the lights. I remember having to hit my marks. I remember having, you know, five and six pages of dialogue where you're like, "Ohhhhh." But it was really an exercise of of being completely present.
26:49 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, let's talk about Boys in the Hood because I mean, it wasn't just the movie. It was a cultural shift. It really, really was. I even still think about that now when I'm thinking about John Singleton.
26:59 Speaker 01 I miss him so much. Oh, gosh.
27:01 Keke Palmer? I hate that I didn't get a chance to work with him, especially because so much of his work, especially now that so much time has passed. It was like documentary narrative.
27:09 Speaker 01 Absolutely. And it was on film.
27:11 Keke Palmer? It was just.
27:12 Speaker 01 Film.
27:14 Keke Palmer? It's incredible to just think about the way that he was exposing what was happening in the world in this way that is very pop culture, but has so much depth. But I found it interesting that you at first, before knowing he was directing it, kind of like unsure if this was a movie that you wanted to do, which I think is really cool because it's like, hey, who's telling this story?
27:33 Speaker 01 Who's telling the story? I mean, we had Spike Lee in New York.
27:36 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
27:36 Speaker 01 But we didn't really have our LA director yet. It was everyone was kind of, it was it was marinating and percolating, but it hadn't landed yet. Yeah, right. And so when I got the call, I said, John Singleton, well, that doesn't necessarily sound black to me. And I said to my agent, I said, oh, is this some white guy trying to tell the story about where I live and what we do? So I get the script, Boys in the Hood. I'm like, OK, what kind of title is this? Because I'm living in South Central at this time.
28:06 Keke Palmer? Yep.
28:07 Speaker 01 I read the script. I couldn't put it down. And it was the realest, most honest thing that I had ever read about young, urban, black culture. And so I remember just saying to my agent, I'm like, is this director white or black? Because where I, from where I stood, I didn't meet very many black directors.
28:28 Keke Palmer? Right.
28:29 Speaker 01 And sure enough, on a rainy day, I walked in the casting room and there he was. And I just was like, hi. And he was like, who are you? And I was like, who are you? Because I didn't know it was him. And he got right up in my face. And I was like, I know this guy is not trying to holler at me at the audition. This cannot be what's happening right now. And he said, I'm John Singleton, Singleton, the director. And I go, oh, hi.
28:56 Speaker 01 I turned real sweet.
28:59 Speaker 01 Code switch.
29:00 Keke Palmer? Okay. I'm so glad to be here.
29:02 Speaker 01 I'm so happy to meet you.
29:04 Keke Palmer? John Singleton.
29:09 Speaker 01 And, you know, I did the audition and I walked out of there not knowing what was gonna happen. But the thing that I appreciated about him most is his commitment to truth. Every character in that film, in some sort of way, had a connection to the real person.
29:28 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
29:28 Speaker 01 In a real, authentic way, right? And so, there wasn't a lot of acting required. It was more about being vulnerable.
29:37 Keke Palmer? Wow. So he's kind of one of those directors that lets you interpret the scene?
29:43 Speaker 01 Well, I think he could see pieces of the actors, pieces of the character in who he cast. Because he wanted to know everyone's story. You didn't just come in and audition. It was like a therapy session. At one point, I think I even cried because he was like, so, tell me about your life. So I go on, I tell him my life, and then I'm like, yeah. He's like, what about your dad? And I remember I just started crying because it was still very raw for me at that time. And I just thought, oh, wow, he hit a nerve.
30:15 Keke Palmer? That is really before the time. Meaning, that type of casting, that meta-type of narrative storytelling that's coinciding with the storyline. I feel like we see a lot of that now. But that was not happening then.
30:29 Speaker 01 No.
30:30 Keke Palmer? Which I think is just so remarkable when we think about people like John Singleton. But it's also interesting for you to be a newcomer and already be thinking about just like, how black stories are being told, excuse me. How were you?
30:43 Speaker 01 My father, he did not play when it came to us. He was a poet, a deep thinker. He, you know, he was very much a part of the belief system of the civil rights movement. And he was a voice in the community. And so, I think certain things are just inherited. I don't know that I... I, I mean, I know my history and I've seen what we've been through, but there's that thing inside of me that cares deeply about us.
31:14 Keke Palmer? Mm hmm, absolutely.
31:16 Speaker 01 And to represent who we are. And the older I get and the more that I'm raising these young men, it's become more and more important.
31:25 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
31:25 Speaker 01 Because I want us all to understand each other. It's not just about separatism. I don't believe in that. I believe in understanding and finding truth and finding that connective tissue that actually makes us human.
31:38 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I feel the same way.
31:40 Speaker 01 And that doesn't have a color. There's no, there's no race to that, you know? That's humanity.
31:47 Keke Palmer? Yes.
31:47 Speaker 01 So.
31:48 Keke Palmer? You credit John Singleton with discovering you.
31:51 Speaker 01 Yes.
31:52 Keke Palmer? How did you, what are some things? You've said a little bit over here, but when you think about those early days on set with him, what is something that you feel like still stays with you or stuck with you from there? Especially as you now also a director?
32:04 Speaker 01 Yeah, he's so specific. He was so specific about what he wanted. And I think you can probably relate to this too. When a director knows what he wants, it doesn't matter how good you are.
32:18 Speaker 01 When he knows what he wants and he tells you where to go. And he, but he also gives you the freedom to change it if it doesn't feel good.
32:27 Keke Palmer? Mm hmm.
32:28 Speaker 01 You know you're safe.
32:29 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
32:30 Speaker 01 And the worst thing in the world is to be on a set and you're shooting a film and you feel like you're kind of on an island alone and there's no connection between you and your director.
32:43 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
32:45 Speaker 01 And we've all been there. It's a million times.
32:48 Keke Palmer? You know?
32:50 Speaker 01 Oh, God.
32:52 Keke Palmer? Could you just not just start telling? I'm bleeping this, but guys.
32:55 Speaker 01 Outtakes.
32:56 Keke Palmer? Okay.
32:57 Speaker 01 Outtakes.
32:58 Keke Palmer? It's tough.
32:59 Speaker 01 It's tough.
33:00 Keke Palmer? It's tough.
33:01 Speaker 01 It's tough because you're relying on yourself and then you feel like you gotta look at the monitor. Is my hair done? Is my makeup right? Is my... And I'm like, I was here to act. I'm not here to be the wardrobe person, the hairstylist, the makeup.
33:15 Keke Palmer? I just heard when you said that. I'm not scared of you, these other dudes. They might be scared of you, but I'll whip your ass. That line just, I heard it. When you did that there, I went right back to Friday.
33:28 Speaker 01 It's the same girl, girl. It's the same girl.
33:30 Keke Palmer? She said, "I will whip yo..." Girl.
33:33 Speaker 01 I remember F. Gary Gray cracked up when I said that. I don't even know that that was in the script that way. But here's what happened. We had literally 30 seconds to get that shot. And as you notice, there's no coverage of me on the ground because we ran out of money and time. So I was like, I said, "Well, are you gonna turn around and get me on the ground? Like, is there a stunt involved?" He said, "No, you're gonna be slapped right out of the frame." Just gone.
34:03 Keke Palmer? Girl, that, I just watched it recently again.
34:06 Speaker 01 It's a funny movie.
34:07 Keke Palmer? It's so... And then I think, I know, I feel like also what makes it so good and like a classic, especially of the Friday franchises, at the center of it, it was about a lot of what you just said. It was about community, it was about gun violence.
34:20 Speaker 01 Absolutely.
34:21 Keke Palmer? It was about, you gotta live, live to fight another day.
34:25 Speaker 01 That's it.
34:25 Keke Palmer? That, especially at that time where gun, I mean, we still having issues with gun violence.
34:31 Speaker 01 Same thing.
34:31 Keke Palmer? And you think it's like, I be, I'm like, y'all, at the end of the day, Friday was funny, but it had a message.
34:36 Speaker 01 It was a real Friday in the hood. And it was layered with all the things that we dealt with. The good stuff, the funny stuff, the weed, the cereal with water, and maybe losing your life. All of these things.
34:48 Keke Palmer? Like, I just love that.
34:50 Speaker 01 It was a great film.
34:51 Keke Palmer? Let's get into the 90s because, you know, you mentioned it earlier. Y'all didn't have social media. No branding consultants. Like, it was very, it was a different level of mystique. And I'm wondering if you feel like that has allowed more longevity? Or do you feel like it would've been great if y'all had a little bit more digital access? Or just to expand your reach?
35:11 Speaker 01 I, I think it was perfect. I think the 90s was absolutely perfect.
35:17 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh.
35:18 Speaker 01 I just, we wanna go back. And I just feel like...
35:26 Speaker 01 You know, there was a naivete about the 90s that made us very powerful. Because we didn't have, I couldn't afford a stylist. There was no, you got dressed with what you had in your closet and you found a drug dealer to buy you some, a new purse.
35:47 Keke Palmer? Come on!
35:48 Speaker 01 I definitely had some Gucci sneakers in my day and a good purse.
35:52 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, that is so funny. And I love that you, I also wonder like, is that just what we all feel about our youth? Like even me, I think about the 2010s and I'm like, they were awesome. Now, I still look at the, think about the 90s and I'm like, oh my gosh, they were so cool. I wish I was that, the age I am now then. But also in general, I think some of that is, is that just that era of any of our lives? The early 20s?
36:13 Speaker 01 No, because the, no, sorry.
36:16 Keke Palmer? Damn, it really was just different then.
36:18 Speaker 01 It was different because...
36:19 Keke Palmer? I love that though.
36:20 Speaker 01 It was different because it was the beginning.
36:24 Keke Palmer? There's a renaissance.
36:25 Speaker 01 It was a renaissance. There was hip-hop music. In New York City, in LA. Then it went sprinkled down to the South. So there was just this surge of energy, of greatness, of talent, of music. And we didn't care who said yes or no. We owned the space and we were so hungry for more. Because when you think of the civil rights movement and you think how their push and their voices got us to be where we were.
36:56 Keke Palmer? Yes.
36:57 Speaker 01 We were empowered.
36:58 Keke Palmer? Yes.
37:00 Speaker 01 Now, young people are being powered by fake imagery and, and images on social media that don't have very much substance. The substance is the thing that gets you longevity.
37:15 Keke Palmer? Yes.
37:15 Speaker 01 If you don't, it, it can't, you can't pretend to be a star. You can't pretend to be talented. You have to have the substance to, to marry the talent. And that's what gets to the longevity. I think, I mean, I don't know if I'm right about everything, but I know that I'm committed to that.
37:33 Keke Palmer? I mean, to me, it aligns and... When I think about like, we were just talking about Friday, it ain't just a funny movie, it has a message. Even when I think about the most silly satirical works, like, don't be a menace to South Central while drinking your juice in the hood. But it was amazing. Message. Yeah. Message. Hi.
37:48 Speaker 01 We knew exactly what that meant.
37:50 Keke Palmer? Hollywood Shuffle. Oh. You know?
37:52 Speaker 01 Robert Townsend's genius.
37:54 Keke Palmer? They were all, it was always something that was crucial happening at the core of it. When I think about the wood, it's about growing up. Yeah. It's about we no longer can be childish and do the funny kid things we did anymore, but we go always love each other even though it's time for us to move on. Like, everything had weight to it. What, do you think it's because we're chasing numbers? And just like we're, we're equating visibility and popularity with, you know, like, you know, is that what has happened with digital? Cause I wonder why, it's like, what has changed with the material? Why aren't we always looking?
38:26 Speaker 01 The quality is just not.
38:29 Keke Palmer? It's crazy.
38:29 Speaker 01 What it used to be. Everything doesn't have to be perfect art. I don't think there's such a thing as perfect art anyway. But when I turn on a film, and I say turn on a film because now everything's streaming. There's no more going to the movies. It makes me so sad.
38:48 Keke Palmer? Baby girl.
38:49 Speaker 01 It breaks my heart.
38:50 Keke Palmer? That was my thing.
38:51 Speaker 01 I know, and I think as much as we love streaming because it's giving so many other actors opportunities that may not have those opportunities, right?
39:01 Keke Palmer? Mm-hmm.
39:02 Speaker 01 But I really miss the art of going to the theater. And I think because there's such a quick turnover with streaming, there's a, you have to inform the audience in a different way when you're working on something that's streaming. And, and I just did a film for Netflix and I love Netflix and they've been so amazing and supportive.
39:23 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
39:23 Speaker 01 With my career, but we were having this conversation about streaming and, and the difference, and the difference is. We are usually, I know for me, I'm usually folding clothes, washing clothes, making a bed, cooking, doing five other things while I'm watching a movie.
39:40 Keke Palmer? Yes.
39:40 Speaker 01 And so the content of that film has to in some sort of way have a little bit of repetition so that if your audience member walks away for 20 minutes and comes back, they can plop right back in.
39:51 Keke Palmer? Yes.
39:52 Speaker 01 When you go see a film in a movie theater, you don't, you can't do that. You can't rewind it. You can't, if you get up to use the restroom, you better pick a time that you think it's gonna carry you to the next moment.
40:03 Keke Palmer? Yeah, because we didn't got commercials.
40:04 Speaker 01 We don't have commercials.
40:05 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
40:06 Speaker 01 And so I think the quality of filmmaking is a lot different. And I think the content that's being, I don't love all of it.
40:17 Keke Palmer? And I'll be honest too, there's something that's different too with, I also love streaming. I love getting opportunities to perform and act. The world is changing, technology, all that, I get it, you know, I get it.
40:27 Speaker 01 Right, we have to be accepted.
40:28 Keke Palmer? But, when we think about that early renaissance of the 90s, black rom-coms, just family movies, early 2000s, I mean Soul Food.
40:35 Speaker 01 Yeah.
40:36 Keke Palmer? Forever. Body shaped like a Coke bottle, so we should call it a Coke bottle.
40:41 Speaker 01 My girl, come on, bird. My husband, that's my husband.
40:46 Keke Palmer? I love.
40:48 Speaker 01 Oh my god, I love, Vivica was so great to me in that scene too. You know I love me some Vivica.
40:53 Keke Palmer? Cornbread.
40:56 Speaker 01 I love it.
40:58 Keke Palmer? Cousin Faith with her fast ass. You know the family did, the family [BLEEP].
41:02 Speaker 01 My husband. Vanessa was ama, I remember, wait, hold up. When we filmed that scene and she said those lines, I was like, yes, Vanessa. I couldn't even act in the scene because she was so good and she was so proper and so regal. And I was just so tripping that this was like Vanessa Williams in the same scene with her, right?
41:25 Keke Palmer? And Makai Fifa.
41:27 Speaker 01 With his fine ass.
41:29 Keke Palmer? Wow.
41:30 Speaker 01 I mean.
41:31 Keke Palmer? That man was just too fine.
41:33 Speaker 01 He was still fine.
41:34 Keke Palmer? And they was mad at Bird, like.
41:35 Speaker 01 They wasn't mad at me with my blue nails.
41:37 Keke Palmer? Okay, girl, I've been there doing hair.
41:40 Speaker 01 With the crimps.
41:41 Keke Palmer? That movie. Speaking of all of that to say.
41:44 Speaker 01 Yeah.
41:44 Keke Palmer? I realized that a lot, even with my movie in early 2000s, 2004, 2006, Aquila and the Bee.
41:51 Speaker 01 Yeah.
41:52 Keke Palmer? Didn't do well in the theaters.
41:53 Speaker 01 Yeah.
41:54 Keke Palmer? It did amazing with DVDs.
41:56 Speaker 01 Yeah.
41:57 Keke Palmer? And so it's very interesting, even with you speaking on Love Jones.
42:01 Speaker 01 You talk. It was a flop.
42:02 Keke Palmer? But then it's this ma- so it's interesting because I feel like now we're seeing where we don't have DVDs anymore. But to me, that's what streaming has become.
42:10 Speaker 01 Absolutely.
42:11 Keke Palmer? Where these movies that were hits on DVDs that people bought from home that maybe weren't big in the theaters. They've n- it's now unfortunately hurt the cinematic opportunity for rom-coms and those kinds of films.
42:23 Speaker 01 Yeah.
42:24 Keke Palmer? Because now they just, they go straight to the DVD.
42:26 Speaker 01 I know.
42:26 Keke Palmer? They don't, they mi- they totally go over that, that cinema part. And I, I don't, you know, again, it's like, it's interesting as time changes. I'm not sure how good that is for artists or how not. You know, I don't know how many of us get ba- box office back end. You know, I don't know if it's.
42:40 Speaker 01 I think we're in the middle of, of where we don't know.
42:43 Keke Palmer? Right.
42:44 Speaker 01 Because we're kinda, it's like one foot in and one foot out. I'm just hoping that we, the tide changes and we end up, you know, having that experience in the movie theater. I hope that we get back to that. Cause I think it's, it's like you, I, I mean, I just remember, we used to go to the movie theater every Christmas day. That was our family thing. And it's, I mean, there's usually like one good film during Christmas time, but like it's hard to find options.
43:12 Keke Palmer? It is. It really, really is. You said, um, in the same interview about Love Jones, that you felt Nina is the most like you.
43:20 Speaker 01 Mm-hmm.
43:20 Keke Palmer? Why? Love that character. And Bill Bellamy was hatin' so bad in that movie.
43:25 Speaker 01 He's such a hater.
43:26 Keke Palmer? He was hatin' on Darren.
43:26 Speaker 01 Bill Bellamy, you're a hater. Where are you? Bill hatin' ass Bellamy.
43:32 Keke Palmer? He cracked me up in that movie. I said, this brother gonna come to the club again.
43:36 Speaker 01 I said, I said it when we were shooting. I said, damn.
43:42 Speaker 01 Well, the interesting thing about Love Jones was, you know, it was, it was one of those things where I picked up that script again.
43:52 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
43:53 Speaker 01 Read it in one swoop. And I was just like, and you know, and it was a lot like me in the sense that it felt like I was in this world, like I was just submerged in art. And, you know, my dad was a poet and we, and he lives from Trenton and so Chicago and New York have a thing.
44:11 Keke Palmer? Y'all shot that in Chicago.
44:12 Speaker 01 We did.
44:13 Keke Palmer? My mom actually tried to write a song for that movie.
44:15 Speaker 01 She did?
44:16 Keke Palmer? Yes, she did.
44:17 Speaker 01 Oh my god, I love that.
44:18 Keke Palmer? From Chicago, you know how Chicago, Chicago has so much talent, but they can't never, it's like such a thing.
44:22 Speaker 01 I know.
44:23 Keke Palmer? Anyway. But anyway, we did Soul Food with Chicago too. Yep.
44:26 Speaker 01 I spent a lot, I've spent a lot of time in Chicago. I really, really love Chicago.
44:31 Keke Palmer? Soul Food was so true to me and my family. They ain't cutting off my leg and that's that. Like that movie, we all got Big Mama.
44:40 Speaker 01 I mean, how do, I don't even remember half of the stuff that she remembers.
44:44 Keke Palmer? My, Big Mama told me, we gotta get the family together, so I came for Sunday dinner. Girl, that movie is my life.
44:50 Speaker 01 You know, all the life.
44:51 Keke Palmer? I'm a mom, I'm like, family gotta be right. You know, let's stop with the diabetes. That movie yet again, about how soul food, like how do we come together and not kill ourselves?
45:01 Speaker 01 I know.
45:02 Keke Palmer? With the food that we, I mean, anyway.
45:03 Speaker 01 And prayer and God and being, been having a way out and community, all of that. But I will tell you something. So you know when you shoot a scene with that many actors?
45:13 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh.
45:14 Speaker 01 Girl, I wanted to throw that chicken across the damn table. It was so long.
45:19 Keke Palmer? Yeah. That coverage, anytime I see a scene that has three plus.
45:23 Speaker 01 I'm a vegan and I also am at the end of the table and at this point I've gone to the bathroom.
45:28 Keke Palmer? You know what I'm saying?
45:29 Speaker 01 How do you get out of the scene? That's all you think of as an actor is how can I get out?
45:33 Keke Palmer? That's what John Stamos taught me. When we were working on the TV show, he said, you just gotta find your way and exit. You just, oh.
45:39 Speaker 01 And he's good at that too. He, that's his, he's actually famous for that.
45:44 Keke Palmer? He's always doing that. That's how he get that coverage down. Genius, genius. Um, we have to talk about another favorite of mine, The Best Man, iconic.
46:01 Keke Palmer? I mean, let's just get into the slap moment, which apparently, like, so, wait a minute. Taye Diggs, he said it was improvised.
46:09 Speaker 01 Taye Diggs is a liar. And I actually called him about this because I was like, you need to stop. This is such an old story. And you're also making me look like the villain. And I'm not the villain.
46:19 Keke Palmer? I'm howling. Because then Michael D. Lee said it wasn't. It was absolutely scripted. Malcolm D. Lee.
46:25 Speaker 01 Well, thank God, somebody stepped in and told the truth.
46:29 Keke Palmer? That is hot. Why does Taye do this? I feel like Taye is always messing around.
46:33 Speaker 01 Taye is messy.
46:35 Keke Palmer? I love that.
46:36 Speaker 01 I love him, but he's messy. And also, you know, we're all like brother and sister on that. So like, there's a bond between us that like, I guess, I guess he feels like he can just mess with me publicly. But publicly, like, come on now.
46:52 Keke Palmer? But you guys were so cute. And then even the most recent that was on HBO. Was HBO, yeah.
46:57 Speaker 01 It was, no.
46:58 Keke Palmer? No, no, Showtime.
46:59 Speaker 01 No, Peacock.
46:59 Keke Palmer? Peacock, yeah, on Peacock. I watched the whole series.
47:02 Speaker 01 Right.
47:03 Keke Palmer? It's just cable at this point. God damn. You know what I mean? We can't keep on, but Peacock, shout out to them. We love them. They did the new Best Man. I love, just seeing you two together. The chemistry is just palpable. I mean, it's just so... How was it working on that film in, you know, the first time? And then seeing how the franchise is so beloved, even all to this time?
47:24 Speaker 01 Yeah, I mean, you just say, thank you, God. This is so great that we've done something that's actually touched people so deeply. And, and, you know, I look at you with your short hair and I envy you because I'm like, should I go back?
47:38 Keke Palmer? But it's your look. I really, I even put freckles on, you know, because I'm literally, I wanted to talk to you as you.
47:44 Speaker 01 It's funny, you don't, can you see my freckles today?
47:46 Keke Palmer? I always see them.
47:47 Speaker 01 Maybe a little bit?
47:48 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
47:48 Speaker 01 I'm trying to do, I've been doing less coverage. Less coverage. Thank you.
47:53 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I love freckles.
47:54 Speaker 01 I feel like freckles make you feel and look younger and fresh and...
47:57 Keke Palmer? So cute.
47:58 Speaker 01 Oh, God, so are you.
48:00 Keke Palmer? Stop!
48:01 Speaker 01 You're very cute.
48:02 Keke Palmer? I just live.
48:04 Speaker 01 So cute. But wait, whoa, oh, so the, so.
48:07 Keke Palmer? I forgot what we were saying too.
48:08 Speaker 01 We were coming off of, we were coming off of COVID.
48:11 Keke Palmer? Yes.
48:12 Speaker 01 It was, it was my first job back.
48:14 Keke Palmer? Right.
48:14 Speaker 01 I was smack dead in the middle of menopause. I had gained thirty pounds. I didn't feel beautiful. I, I was drinking red wine every day.
48:24 Keke Palmer? Fabulous.
48:24 Speaker 01 I slipped in the snow and broke my arm. Like, it was just not a good time.
48:30 Keke Palmer? We were going through a lot. Were you in New York?
48:32 Speaker 01 I was living in New York.
48:34 Keke Palmer? Cause I saw you. I don't know if I saw you right at the time, but me and you saw each other right outside of the Jamaican spot. Yes, we did.
48:40 Speaker 01 Miss Anne's, Miss Anne's.
48:41 Keke Palmer? Yes, yeah, we were right up.
48:42 Speaker 01 No, Miss Lily's.
48:43 Keke Palmer? Miss Lily's. We was right up the hill, girl.
48:45 Speaker 01 I said, come on in, KK.
48:46 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I remember that anyhow.
48:48 Speaker 01 But yeah, so, so it was a tough time for everyone because we all needed to work. No one had worked.
48:54 Keke Palmer? Yes.
48:55 Speaker 01 And so we were getting the, you know, the gang back together and, and, and people had changed and had different ideas about their characters and I think we landed on something that felt honest enough for us as actors. And entertaining enough for the audience.
49:12 Keke Palmer? Yes.
49:13 Speaker 01 But, but honestly, I felt
49:20 Speaker 01 more adult in my skin than the characters allowed us to be.
49:26 Keke Palmer? Interesting.
49:27 Speaker 01 I was like, I, I, I wanted,
49:32 Speaker 01 I don't know, I wanted Jordan to feel more settled at that point. But I also realized that she wasn't settled in the last one, so we kinda needed her to see, see her feel unsettled before she made real strong decisions at the end. So I guess it all works out.
49:50 Keke Palmer? And I feel like she's very representative of a woman that I think that was introduced to us in that era, early on, that really has cemented herself in media and just as an archetype in general. Because she was a career. She was nuanced. She had this very unique dynamic with, um, you know, Tay's character and she was, I really related to her. So even at this point in her life, I, I, I really was into it and I was into the evolution of all of them because I felt that it didn't. Try to wrap everything up with a bow.
50:21 Speaker 01 Well, that's good that you say that because you know, I've, I've never actually sat and watched the whole series.
50:27 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
50:27 Speaker 01 Um, not because I didn't love it, because I did love it.
50:31 Keke Palmer? That's what's weird with your own work. I don't watch a lot of them either.
50:34 Speaker 01 Sometimes I'm like, okay, that's enough. I don't need to see all of that.
50:37 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
50:37 Speaker 01 You know, it's like you just, you kinda, it's, it's for the people. It's for the fans. Some things are just like, it's, it's something that you do because you know, people want it and, and you know, the impact that these characters had and, and like, it was fun and we, we, we are like the, I think we were the first franchised film.
50:59 Keke Palmer? Girl.
51:00 Speaker 01 With all black people.
51:01 Keke Palmer? When I tell you that I wanted, I told Malcolm, I said, man, do the best men in college years and call me up.
51:10 Speaker 01 Right, like the pre.
51:11 Keke Palmer? The prequel.
51:12 Speaker 01 But there was actually a time that there was a conversation about that.
51:15 Keke Palmer? We've gotta do that.
51:17 Speaker 01 But I wouldn't be in it because then I'd have to be like your auntie or something and that would be weird.
51:21 Keke Palmer? You hate that?
51:22 Speaker 01 I mean, you could be me. You could definitely be Jordan.
51:26 Keke Palmer? I thought I said, but they better hurry up. I'm already getting older.
51:29 Speaker 01 Listen, because you, in a minute.
51:31 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean? Like college?
51:33 Speaker 01 But you're not getting older, but like.
51:35 Keke Palmer? You know, okay. It's like, we're pushing it. But I really want that. I really want that prequel. I also want the prequel to why did I get married? I want it to be, how did I get married? Tasha Smith?
51:49 Speaker 01 Oh my God, you have a whole catalog. She's got a catalog. She's got her work lined up for the next 10 years.
51:55 Keke Palmer? Well, let's talk about Don't Ever Wonder coming out on Netflix, reuniting you and my first crush ever, Lorenz Kate.
52:02 Speaker 01 He's the best. Everyone loves him. He's so fine. I don't even understand it. You don't understand how much moisturizer and I had to put on just to keep up with him. I'm like, thank you, Jesus, for Estee Lauder.
52:12 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, girl, you have literally just become the first brand ambassador. This is huge news. But also it makes total sense because your skin is like annoyingly perfect. Makeup, no makeup. It's starting to get sickening. What do you do?
52:27 Keke Palmer? What do you do?
52:28 Speaker 01 She said five things in.
52:31 Speaker 01 Listen, I am a, first of all, I will not support anything that I don't believe in.
52:37 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
52:38 Speaker 01 And Advanced Night Repair really changed the game for me. Especially in L.A. because it's dry here. The water's dry, the air's dry. And so it's like giving your face a drink of water. And the first time I tried it, I was like, oh. And then it was like, oh. And then it was like, oh, and the hand cream and the skin. There's so many products that are, and I think, here's what I really think. I think sometimes people don't think of Estee Lauder because it's been around so long.
53:06 Keke Palmer? Sure.
53:07 Speaker 01 And so there's, we are inundated with so many new products. And so when you just pause for a minute.
53:14 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
53:14 Speaker 01 And you think about the brands that have been dependable, that have had longevity. There it is.
53:20 Keke Palmer? Absolutely.
53:21 Speaker 01 There's Estee Lauder and it's in that pretty brown bottle. It looks pretty on your, in your bathroom.
53:26 Keke Palmer? We love aesthetically pleasing stuff, too.
53:28 Speaker 01 Thank you, darling.
53:29 Keke Palmer? Well, you look great and it makes total sense.
53:31 Speaker 01 Yeah.
53:31 Keke Palmer? You know, who doesn't want skin like me long?
53:34 Speaker 01 It's a fun, it's a fun family and it didn't happen overnight. And that's what I love the most is that it's a really authentic connection.
53:41 Keke Palmer? You've had a lot of great partnerships. I remember commenting and going up for your Skims campaign. Fabulous. That was awesome.
53:48 Speaker 01 I didn't eat for three weeks, maybe three weeks.
53:53 Keke Palmer? What were you, when they called you up with that, was there any, because you know it is all about skin and being, you know, showing the, you know what I mean? What were you, were you kind of like, let's just go, you know?
54:02 Speaker 01 I was like, finally, there's a reason to lose 50 pounds.
54:07 Keke Palmer? You are crazy.
54:08 Speaker 01 Because I was not going to play myself.
54:10 Keke Palmer? You look so good.
54:11 Speaker 01 I'm, I'm really great friends with Kim, one of Kim's partners. And she called and, and I was just like, yes, let's do this. And I was also in a place where my, I was coming out of a really long relationship. And I wanted to like reclaim my sexuality and my sensuality. And I wanted to feel good in my skin and we were past COVID and we were past breakup. And my kids were getting older and it was like, I am woman, hear me roar in my Skims.
54:44 Keke Palmer? That's everything.
54:45 Speaker 01 And I just said, I'm going to do it. And it was one of the best. Shoots of my career. There were so many amazing women on that set. And I actually let Kim know, I said, Kim, I just have to tell you that that was one of the best shoots of my. I didn't have to readjust the lighting.
55:05 Keke Palmer? Ugh.
55:05 Speaker 01 Cause girl.
55:06 Keke Palmer? We love a great creative team.
55:07 Speaker 01 Can we talk about the lighting?
55:09 Keke Palmer? It can get spooky.
55:10 Speaker 01 Listen.
55:11 Keke Palmer? My girl Kenya is like, she needs a bounce underneath.
55:15 Speaker 01 I'm glad that.
55:16 Keke Palmer? It gets to that point.
55:16 Speaker 01 I'm, okay, I don't know who that is that you just act.
55:21 Keke Palmer? Hey Kenya, she does the glam and she be directing the people on set. They be tired of her.
55:26 Speaker 01 But no, this is, listen, I, you have to have that.
55:28 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
55:29 Speaker 01 Because it's just not, they don't always light for us. So you have to be able to say it and you have to just know what you need and that's it. And if you do it in a non-emotional way, it just becomes like, okay, can I have a glass of water? Can I get a light in my eyes? Can I get a bounce? Can you not light my neck?
55:45 Keke Palmer? Girl, your neck look good. What, you putting the Estee Lauder on there too?
55:49 Speaker 01 Yes, neck cream. I've been using neck cream since I was 20 though.
55:52 Keke Palmer? Girl, I hope I didn't run out of time. I gotta hurry it up. I feel like I started too late, bitch. Uh, it's so much we have to think about. The hands in that neck sneak up on us.
56:03 Speaker 01 The hands.
56:04 Keke Palmer? Them hands in that neck, cause you can't really botox your neck, you know?
56:08 Speaker 01 I think you can. I, I have it, look, I have it.
56:12 Keke Palmer? Then you like this and [BLEEP].
56:14 Speaker 01 No, no, it's.
56:14 Keke Palmer? That would be crazy, like, hey y'all.
56:17 Speaker 01 You're just. I think the key is to, I'm looking at my shot. I think the key is to kinda.
56:23 Keke Palmer? I'm trying to be.
56:24 Speaker 01 You know, you kinda gotta be in here. And you just.
56:31 Keke Palmer? Girl, I'm.
56:32 Speaker 01 And you just move your eyes, you don't really. Every, listen, I wear a ponytail for a reason. Snatch it.
56:40 Keke Palmer? Period. But you gonna eat a silk press down every time.
56:45 Speaker 01 Every.
56:46 Keke Palmer? You know it is. Every time. Well, speaking of love, cause I love that you just brought up that whole, like, I mean, stepping back and I'm single, you know, stepping out, like, how are you feeling about dating? Are you having fun?
56:57 Speaker 01 I know, it's stupid, I hate it. It's so dumb.
57:01 Keke Palmer? I want it to be like the 90s, how y'all made it look in the movies. It ain't fun, Nia.
57:05 Speaker 01 I want flowers sent to my house. I need you to show consistent effort.
57:11 Keke Palmer? Like...
57:12 Speaker 01 I need you to show me that I need you.
57:15 Keke Palmer? Okay, cuz that's the thing.
57:17 Speaker 01 That is...
57:17 Keke Palmer? Y'all want somebody to play dumb, but then you already dumb. Now we both dumb?
57:20 Speaker 01 Okay, I believe that. I gotta go.
57:22 Keke Palmer? You know I'm not lying, Nia. You know I'm not lying. They want you to play dumb, but it's like you've already, you already are dumb. So now what do I do?
57:31 Speaker 01 I'm sorry, I needed a moment.
57:32 Keke Palmer? Somebody's gotta teach somebody something.
57:33 Speaker 01 Somebody has to be the student and someone must be the teacher.
57:37 Keke Palmer? Girl, it's getting to the point that I was, I was at some, one of these events and the guy next to me, I mean, he's talking to me, talking to me about he just going to France and he da-da-da, and we having such a great time. 69 though. And I started to think.
57:49 Speaker 01 He was 69?
57:50 Keke Palmer? I was like, should I date?
57:51 Speaker 01 I thought he was asking you to do 69. I was like, what? On the first conver-?
57:57 Keke Palmer? He was, he gave me an evening to remember. I started to think.
58:01 Speaker 01 No, no, no.
58:01 Keke Palmer? 69?
58:03 Speaker 01 Honey, no.
58:03 Keke Palmer? 70, maybe?
58:05 Speaker 01 No, baby, no. That's like a grandpa to your child. You don't, you're looking for...
58:10 Keke Palmer? He's done it before. He can help me with Lil. Girl, because it's getting to the point where the guys that are...
58:16 Speaker 01 I, I can't go that old.
58:18 Keke Palmer? 30s, 40s, they're not.
58:19 Speaker 01 Cuz I'm like, fresh and clean and I, it's just, that just feels like it could just get a little musty or something. It could be a little weird.
58:27 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I feel the same way. It's like I'm open to love, I'm open to the vibes, but the vibes aren't giving vibes. So then I just find myself having so much more fun with myself, with my girlfriends.
58:37 Speaker 01 Yes, this is the thing. Like, listen, I, every girl wants to feel special.
58:42 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
58:42 Speaker 01 But I also feel like I've experienced good love in my life. And so I know when it's good and when it's just playtime. But what I do think I need to do more of is engage in playtime.
58:55 Keke Palmer? That's what I'm saying.
58:56 Speaker 01 But cuz cuz I've always been in a relationship. I've always been like, oh, I you like me, I like you. Okay, now we're a thing.
59:04 Keke Palmer? Me too.
59:04 Speaker 01 And then five years later and you're like, oh, whoa. But I don't really know how to like casually date.
59:11 Keke Palmer? I feel like guys don't wanna casually date when you're not begging for more.
59:15 Speaker 01 Maybe that's what cuz I am very aloof.
59:18 Keke Palmer? One, me too, girl. I'm like, do your thing. I got to do.
59:22 Speaker 01 We're not chasing.
59:23 Keke Palmer? They don't want that. Like, to me, it's like, why can't we have a little, why can't we be consistent sneak links? Why can't we just say, hey, it's Friday?
59:29 Speaker 01 And they talk too much. Where's the NDA?
59:31 Keke Palmer? Way too much. I do need that.
59:33 Speaker 01 We need a NDA.
59:33 Keke Palmer? The NDA I need stat.
59:35 Speaker 01 Right now.
59:35 Keke Palmer? Cuz I'm looking for Friday, are we on for Friday night again?
59:39 Speaker 01 Are these the right thing? Oh, oh, wrong one.
59:40 Keke Palmer? Are we on Friday night again? Yeah. Eat that, eat that, eat that, maybe.
59:44 Speaker 01 We definitely, eat, yes, eat it and sign.
59:47 Keke Palmer? Cuz I'm done. I'm done with the, they're not being mature enough.
59:51 Speaker 01 Sign is crazy.
59:52 Keke Palmer? It's so, eat it and sign is eating it. Okay.
59:55 Speaker 01 Listen.
59:56 Keke Palmer? Yeah, it's tough out here, but you know, hey, beautiful in the problems.
59:59 Speaker 01 I feel like the, the thing about dating for me is I wanna date with intention.
1:00:05 Keke Palmer? Yes.
1:00:06 Speaker 01 But I also wanna have fun. I just don't think I'm like into it though. Like, it's, here's the other thing. I don't have time.
1:00:12 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
1:00:13 Speaker 01 That's really the truth.
1:00:14 Keke Palmer? I don't have time, to your point, I don't have time to do something that doesn't feel worth it to me.
1:00:19 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:00:20 Keke Palmer? And I can compartmentalize. I can do the same thing a guy can do respectfully and ethically, right? I can have a sneaky link vibe or not even sneaky link, but just like a, like a guy that we know, we work good friends and we, you know, we enjoy each other's company every now and then, but it's nothing serious between us. And then the opportunity of possibly being something serious with someone, you know, I'm, I'm open, but it's not.
1:00:39 Speaker 01 I like sneaky link. I think I need to get, I need to get into that.
1:00:43 Keke Palmer? I would too.
1:00:44 Speaker 01 There's a couple that I do that with that I know.
1:00:47 Keke Palmer? Oh, you lucky.
1:00:48 Speaker 01 Scared. You know, they're like scary.
1:00:50 Keke Palmer? Cuz they're gonna fall in love with you.
1:00:52 Speaker 01 I don't know about that.
1:00:53 Keke Palmer? Yeah, baby, cuz once you put it, damn.
1:00:57 Keke Palmer? Ay, they don't know how to control they selves.
1:01:01 Speaker 01 Back that thing up.
1:01:02 Keke Palmer? Okay, I'm just saying, I'm just saying, girl, this sleepover that we're about to have.
1:01:06 Speaker 01 This is gonna be nuts.
1:01:07 Keke Palmer? The sleepover that we're about to have and get into this.
1:01:10 Speaker 01 We are having a sleepover. Next time I come, I'm wearing my pajamas.
1:01:13 Keke Palmer? Yes, girl, come on, pajama party.
1:01:15 Speaker 01 It'd be so cute. Let's do it.
1:01:17 Keke Palmer? Okay, I gotta get into Michael. You are helming the matriarch of the legendary Michael Jackson family. Catherine Jackson. What was the process of getting that role like?
1:01:31 Speaker 01 I just remember my agent called and said, Antoine Fuqua
1:01:36 Keke Palmer? Come on, Antoine.
1:01:37 Speaker 01 is is directing the Michael Jackson biopic. And Graham King is producing. And I was like, where do I sign?
1:01:49 Speaker 01 I've wanted to work with Antoine for a very long time. And Graham King is a hitmaker. So like, so is Antoine. Like, that's just a very powerful combination. And they said they need you to do a Zoom tomorrow morning at like, it was like something crazy, like 8:30. And I said to my team, I said, you have to lie. Because like, I need a minute to get my together.
1:02:15 Keke Palmer? Period.
1:02:15 Speaker 01 Because this was right off of my big breakup. And so I was still like, kind of a hot mess and like figuring out my life. And I literally was like, I gotta get my hair done. I gotta go, like, I needed to pour into myself. So anyway, we do this Zoom. I do this Zoom with Graham for like, an hour and a half. And I'm just telling him about, you know, my life and how I met Michael. And when I met Michael, he said, you're Nia Long. It's so nice to meet you. And I was like, you know, the only thing I ever said to Michael was, you know my name? And like, and then I was kind of like, I couldn't talk after that. So, and my mother also worked at his label at the time. So I would see, we would like steal photos from the, from the record label, like real ones, and take them home.
1:03:00 Speaker 01 And they'd be like part of our collection.
1:03:04 Speaker 01 And then, you know, we just talked. And there was just this really wonderful understanding of who Catherine was. And I asked a ton of questions. And I pulled from my own experiences as being a mom. And I was offered the role. And I just was like, couldn't kind of believe it. Because it was like, one of those things that just literally fell out of the sky. And that's the thing that we cannot forget. What is for you will find you.
1:03:35 Keke Palmer? That goes back to what I was saying that's so awesome about you and what you represent is there's this constant sense of grace and ease and I'm still on top, you know? And I think people have to see that and know that and remember that because everybody operates in a different way. And so it's like if you like, no matter what, the cream rises to the top, no matter what.
1:03:56 Speaker 01 And how you get there is your personal journey and the way in which you get there is your personal journey. And what feels good for you is, is part of the thing that makes you have all of the things that you have and all of the opportunities that you have and, and, and the impact that you have on the culture.
1:04:12 Keke Palmer? Yes.
1:04:13 Speaker 01 Like that's, when you can identify, that's your truth, that's your power, that's your superpower. I know for me, if I try to do things that don't feel authentic to who I am, I pause.
1:04:25 Keke Palmer? Mm-hmm.
1:04:26 Speaker 01 I'm like, okay, you're being performative right now, stop. You don't have to do that. You don't have to do what works for someone else. And we all get caught up in it, especially someone like me who rarely goes out. So I go out and I'm like, where's the magnesium? I'm having a panic attack.
1:04:46 Keke Palmer? Come on, magnesium, yes.
1:04:48 Speaker 01 Listen. I'm like, oh my God, there's people in the room.
1:04:51 Keke Palmer? Girl. And it's like, let me get out your way and now I'm in a car already.
1:04:55 Speaker 01 I'm, that's why you saw me in the parking lot leaving early.
1:04:57 Keke Palmer? And you saw I was right behind you.
1:04:59 Speaker 01 I was like, Massa, it's time to go, come get mommy. And I like that about myself.
1:05:05 Keke Palmer? Yes.
1:05:06 Speaker 01 I like that I know when it's time for me to leave. I like when I, that I know that it's, I don't have to do what you do to, to get what I need.
1:05:15 Keke Palmer? It's a lot of confidence, but it's important.
1:05:17 Speaker 01 It's confidence, it's also knowing my limit.
1:05:20 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
1:05:21 Speaker 01 It's also being aware of my own insecurities. It's also just being a grown ass woman.
1:05:27 Keke Palmer? Period.
1:05:28 Speaker 01 Cause it comes and when it lands, you're like, ah. You're like, so you start singing Lion King out of [BLEEP] blue. You're like, what? Who am I?
1:05:37 Keke Palmer? When do you, and I probably feel like this, there's been many different phases of it for you, I mean, in womanhood, but when, what do you feel, when do you feel that the, the wave of it that you're riding on now really hit?
1:05:49 Speaker 01 Proving to myself that I can do all of it.
1:05:53 Speaker 01 And still feeling empowered to do more. I can be a great mom. I can write a book. I can do a film. I can produce another film. I can develop something over here. I it it because when when I was younger and like in the thick of being a mom, I felt like those things weren't attainable, that I couldn't. Oh, I'm not ready for that yet. So just knowing that it's my choice to say that I can do all of those things.
1:06:30 Keke Palmer? I love that that was not that was not something that was attached to an age or a moment. It was Lily attached to capacity, you know?
1:06:37 Speaker 01 Capacity, yes. That's the thing. It's knowing when it's your time to do certain things.
1:06:44 Keke Palmer? Love that. Well, unfortunately, I kept you over time and, you know, this has just been the best time ever with you.
1:06:49 Speaker 01 More money.
1:06:50 Keke Palmer? OK. Y'all heard her. She's not lying. It ain't coming out of my check.
1:06:55 Speaker 01 Amazon got plenty. I just ordered groceries and I know what I spent.
1:06:59 Keke Palmer? I working with Amazon drives me crazy because I feel like I give them their money back every time.
1:07:04 Speaker 01 Do you? Do you get like gift cards?
1:07:05 Keke Palmer? I just be shopping on here. No, they don't give me no damn gift cards.
1:07:07 Speaker 01 They don't give you gift cards?
1:07:09 Keke Palmer? And then I'm finding myself on Amazon anyway. It's like, what's up?
1:07:13 Speaker 01 We gotta add that to your contract next time. For your guests, I feel like your guests should get nothing.
1:07:19 Keke Palmer? Girl, you got me already. I'm about to call the lawyers after this because that's good. They should give me an allowance for the Amazon.
1:07:25 Speaker 01 Be a shopping allowance.
1:07:26 Keke Palmer? Shopping allowance.
1:07:27 Speaker 01 That's.
1:07:28 Keke Palmer? See, this is why she need along.
1:07:30 Speaker 01 I'm always trying to find a check.
1:07:33 Keke Palmer? OK, I always play a game with my guests before they leave.
1:07:35 Speaker 01 Let's do it.
1:07:36 Keke Palmer? And so I'm going to name a category and you're going to induct one film or character of yours into the Neil Long Hall of Fame. Don't overthink it. Just go what feels right.
1:07:45 Speaker 01 OK.
1:07:46 Keke Palmer? OK. The film that aged the best.
1:07:49 Speaker 01 Love Jones.
1:07:50 Keke Palmer? Ooh. The character that was the biggest stretch or most difficult to play.
1:07:56 Speaker 01 Hmm.
1:07:59 Speaker 01 I want to say Catherine because I had such a huge responsibility to do it right. And you know Catherine is so graceful. And there's this quiet strength about her. And so a lot of times I had to go against my instincts as an actor to be true to her.
1:08:19 Keke Palmer? I love that.
1:08:20 Speaker 01 Yeah, it was.
1:08:21 Keke Palmer? Did you guys get a chance to meet? I know she's older.
1:08:23 Speaker 01 Get a chance to meet her. I hope that I. Yeah.
1:08:26 Keke Palmer? Yeah, so she's probably, yeah, yeah.
1:08:28 Speaker 01 Yeah, maybe one day.
1:08:29 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
1:08:29 Speaker 01 I just, I think of her all the time, though. When things get tough, I think about her because I'm like, what would Catherine do? She would pray, probably. She'd be strong and in her footing and, you know, love on her children deeply.
1:08:45 Keke Palmer? It's beautiful when it, when anytime, and I feel this way about characters that I've played, they leave us with something.
1:08:50 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:08:51 Keke Palmer? You know what I mean?
1:08:52 Speaker 01 You learn something. Yes. It's, that's very true with this one.
1:08:57 Keke Palmer? Um, the scene, you can't escape to this day.
1:08:59 Speaker 01 The slap with Taye Diggs because he just be lying.
1:09:05 Keke Palmer? Taye is so funny.
1:09:06 Speaker 01 He's a liar. He lies. Don't believe anything he says about that scene.
1:09:11 Keke Palmer? I feel like there must be some truth to this because Gabrielle says the same. Think about Taye.
1:09:15 Speaker 01 Oh, good. Where's Gabrielle? Get her in. Get the other Scorpio in here.
1:09:19 Keke Palmer? Okay, it's a Scorpio thing. Um, the line that still follows you everywhere.
1:09:24 Speaker 01 I'm [BLEEP] knee along.
1:09:26 Keke Palmer? Okay.
1:09:28 Speaker 01 Yeah. God, that's like the fourth F-bomb.
1:09:31 Keke Palmer? And what's wrong with it?
1:09:33 Speaker 01 I love it. You guys can bleep me. I think it's funny.
1:09:36 Keke Palmer? The film that hits different now as a grown woman?
1:09:41 Speaker 01 Ooh, uh, the film that hits now, that hits for me, that was my, like, now that I'm looking back on it.
1:09:50 Keke Palmer? Exactly.
1:09:51 Speaker 01 Uh.
1:09:54 Speaker 01 That scene where Jordan opens the door for Tay and she's in her purple sexy thing and she's got short hair and she sprays air freshener on herself and in the room.
1:10:12 Speaker 01 Anytime I feel like, do I still have that thing? And I watch that scene, it makes me feel happy. Like, oh, she's still in me. I still feel that sexiness. I can still wear that same negligee or lingerie and feel sexy. It's just a different version, you know?
1:10:34 Keke Palmer? I love that.
1:10:35 Speaker 01 Yeah, she's like my sex kitten.
1:10:37 Keke Palmer? I mean, Jordan, I just loved.
1:10:39 Speaker 01 We all gotta have a sex kitten.
1:10:42 Keke Palmer? The role, oh, you know what? The character you'd want your sons to see.
1:10:49 Speaker 01 Can they? Brandy from Boys in the Hood, we recently watched. I recently watched that with Kev.
1:10:54 Keke Palmer? I will never forget that scene that they redid in the Wayans movie where he doing like this.
1:11:01 Speaker 01 Or when Snoop and I reenacted it.
1:11:03 Keke Palmer? This is so funny.
1:11:04 Speaker 01 It's so bad.
1:11:05 Keke Palmer? That is so, and it's dramatic, right? So it's like, oh, my gosh, it's so sad. And she's like holding you and it's like, and you so tiny, too.
1:11:13 Speaker 01 So tiny.
1:11:14 Keke Palmer? You know, but I just loved that. It's just so funny. Okay. The role that shifted how Hollywood saw you.
1:11:24 Speaker 01 I don't know. Have I played her yet?
1:11:29 Speaker 01 I think there's different phases to one's career, right? Like, Boys in the Hood was one thing. Then it was Brandy as a woman. Then it was, you know, Nina as a lover. And now there's Catherine Jackson, so we'll see.
1:11:46 Keke Palmer? I'm very excited about this.
1:11:47 Speaker 01 Yeah, we'll see.
1:11:49 Keke Palmer? Last two. The film you'd turn into a series today.
1:11:53 Speaker 01 Hmm.
1:11:55 Keke Palmer? I would like Love Jones's series.
1:11:57 Speaker 01 Well, I think The Hang Suite, AKA Don't Ever Wonder. We've had many different titles. Right now, it's called Don't Ever Wanda. And the joke on set was, "Don't ever wonder." That was like, we would just run around set saying that.
1:12:13 Keke Palmer? And this is the new one coming out with you and Lorenz.
1:12:16 Speaker 01 And I think it would actually make a great-
1:12:18 Keke Palmer? Shout out to Macro.
1:12:19 Speaker 01 Yes, and James Lopez.
1:12:21 Keke Palmer? James Lopez.
1:12:21 Speaker 01 And Charles King.
1:12:22 Keke Palmer? Charles King, shout out to them all the time, yeah. So, okay, Don't Ever Wanda, I'm very excited about this. I will say, I do have a pitch for Love Jones, guys. Love Jones, but you do it like every episode is a new couple of lone jones. It's like an anthology of romance.
1:12:38 Speaker 01 She's hijacking all of my movies, guys.
1:12:43 Keke Palmer? It's true, because she has an archive. Do you know how long it takes to build that? Okay, last one.
1:12:49 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:12:49 Keke Palmer? And you kind of mentioned it a little bit, but the story that you'd want to tell that you haven't told yet, is there something that speaks to you that you want to be in?
1:12:56 Speaker 01 Yeah, there's a story about a woman and a son that I want to tell.
1:13:01 Keke Palmer? That you know what it is, or you, it's just something about that?
1:13:04 Speaker 01 I, well, I think that the intimacy between a mother and a son is something that you can't always describe. And I have two sons, and I have very different relationships with both of them, but they're both so necessary for my soul, right? And so, I think, I think it doesn't have to be tragic.
1:13:27 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
1:13:28 Speaker 01 I think it needs to be real. And it needs to be contemporary.
1:13:35 Keke Palmer? Yes. I, I mean, I couldn't agree with you more.
1:13:38 Speaker 01 I'm just tired of seeing us in these dark, dark, dark, dark places. It's not necessary, because we are everything, and we are all the things. And we get, and we should be able to play every, we should be able to explore the pieces within us in these women that we're playing. And I think I have a responsibility to myself to be a part of that. So, I'm just trying to figure it all out. I'm still growing, I'm still learning, I'm still making mistakes, and that means I'm alive, and that's great.
1:14:05 Keke Palmer? Yep, I mean, I'm right there with you. And I'm so happy that you came on the podcast.
1:14:11 Speaker 01 Oh, my God, this is like my first podcast.
1:14:13 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, really?
1:14:14 Speaker 01 I think so.
1:14:15 Keke Palmer? Period, baby, this is Keke Palmer, baby, this is Nia Long.
1:14:24 Keke Palmer? There's a reason Nia Long has such an impact on the culture. Okay. The takeaways from her life on screen and behind the scenes are a masterclass in how to not only survive, but thrive in an industry that didn't come with a playbook. And her next chapter, stepping into the role of Katherine Jackson and Michael, is a reminder that what's meant for you will always find you. Nia consistently raises the bar and is proof that time does not define you, you define it. Thank you for watching, and you know we'll see you next time on Baby. This is Keke Palmer.
Previous Emma Grede on Owning Your Ambition Next Robin Thede Made Comedy History… and Got Proposed to 5 Times? Page updated October 30, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated