Keke Palmer has solidified herself as a generational talent. From acting to music to owning her own network, Palmer is one of Hollywood’s most shapeshifting stars. In her latest role, as mother to her two-month-old son Leodis “Leo” Andrellton whom she shares with partner Darius Jackson, she’s continuing to show up as authentic as ever.
In People‘s “Beautiful” issue, the Nope actress shared what she’s learned in the short time since she’s become a mom; listening to her body and honoring it at every shape and size.
“I’ve gone on my own personal journey with how I feel about my physical appearance. And I think the main thing I’ve learned through my experience is to do what makes me feel happy,” she told People. “If I feel like I need to hold it back and I need to do a little bit more work, or [if] I want to feel better about myself, I just do it.”
In an industry that puts an emphasis on how people, especially women, show up physically, Palmer says the race to “snap back” creates unnecessary pressure for all.
“There’s always this thing of, ‘How’d they do it?’ And I think for me, the main thing I would say to any new mom is do what you can when you can, whatever it is that makes you feel good,” she said. “If it’s important to you, then hell yeah put in the work miss girl. Get you whatever diet you want to do or whatever workout regimen that works for you. And if that’s not what you’re worried about, then don’t worry about it,” she continued, adding that what she feels is most important is each individual doing what they think is necessary to “feel good.” Palmer announced her pregnancy during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live back in December and shared the story of how she found out she was expecting during an episode of her podcast Baby, This is Keke Palmer.
Palmer recalled taking a pregnancy test and reading the results too early. “So, I took the test, and it came back negative. I didn’t have the lines on there, so I just threw it in the trash,” she said. The “Hands Free” singer revealed that it was Jackson who called to break the news to her. “We’re having some sake and enjoying ourselves,” she recalled, “and all of a sudden, I get a text from Darius, and he says, ‘When did you take this?'” After rushing home to confirm the news, the happy couple started preparing to bring new life into the world as Palmer set about planning the release of her new album Big Boss, which will drop alongside a film on her network, KeyTV, in May.
“The movie and the album follow my journey in the music industry and how I came to own and being proud of being an independent artist and being a lone wolf in a lot of ways,” she told People. “But in the movie, you start to see that a lot of times we create this lone wolf identity for ourselves, even though we have so much love around us.”
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