Keke Palmer Opens Up About Her Unhealthy Relationship and ‘Rude Awakening’ After Darius Jackson Breakup

Keke Palmer is opening up about identifying the culprit behind a bad relationship and getting a “rude awakening” after venturing out on her own.

In the latest episode of her Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, the 30-year-old actress spoke about a myriad of subjects with guest, Dr. Drew Pinsky, including misogyny. She used her mom, Sharon, and dad, Larry, as prime examples of how she thought every couple should operate.

“So misogyny came at me hard and quick, with the quickness. I grew up in a house where my mom would say, ‘This is what it needs to be.’ And Larry would be like, ‘Okay, Sharon. Go on ahead, Sharon,'” Palmer shared with her mother as a guest on her podcast. “So, for me, when I entered outside of my household and I saw that everybody doesn’t really respect their wives or even women in the way that my dad respects my mom, it was a pretty rude awakening.”

Palmer’s tumultuous relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson, has been well documented by now. Earlier this month, she was granted temporary sole custody of her 8-month-old son, Leo, and a temporary restraining order against Jackson, following a series of alleged incidents of domestic violence.

On the heels of a nasty breakup, Palmer then wondered out loud, “Am I the bad one” in a relationship?

“We’re all in different dynamics with friends, family, lovers, and you find yourself saying, ‘Well, damn it. Am I playing a game on myself, and I’m actually the person that’s doing wrong?'” she asked rhetorically. “How does someone know if they’re — and look, it takes two to tango, right? — but how does someone know when they did the wrong thing and they’re really the issue? How do you know when you’re the issue?”

Pinksy provided her with some solace.

“Keke, the person who is re-evaluating themselves, trying to do what’s right, contemplating they could be doing what’s wrong, that is rarely the person who’s doing wrong,” he said.

Amid an ongoing legal battle with her ex stemming from alleged violent and verbal encounters, Palmer says she’s choosing happiness over anything else.

“And at that point, it was just like, I choose happiness and I choose joy, and I don’t choose to go back there,” she says. “And like you said, as time goes on, I’m like, I’m good. Whatever that was, I’m good.”

The latest episode of her podcast — dubbed “How to deal with abusive relationships, boundaries and narcissism with Dr. Drew Pinsky” — dropped on the same day she released the music video to her revenge-themed track “Serious,” in which she celebrates self-worth.  

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