The multi-talented Keke Palmer has never been one to bite her tongue, especially when it comes to speaking her truth.
The 23-year-old beauty recently sat down with Yahoo Beauty to talk about her evolution within an industry that continues to praise inauthentic beauty standards. Specifically, she called out the scope placed on celebrities like the Kardashians, who are lauded for being what many consider to be the perfect archetype of a woman.
“In the sense of the Kardashians, it’s like I’m going to show you so much perfect and be everything a woman should be or everything a man would like or love,” she said. “And I’m going to be exactly that so you can’t bully me anymore,” speaking in reference to the scrutiny Kylie Jenner faced as a pre-teen in the spotlight.
“You’ve had a young girl people have seen on television since she was a kid and they literally told her she was so ugly. She went and did apparently everything the world deems as beautiful. The even crazier part is that everybody loves her for it.”
Keke says that she herself has faced such pressures, but always makes sure she remembers that staying true to herself is key to her sanity and longevity in such a crazy industry. She says she felt the most pressure and kickback when she decided to ditch what had become her signature long strands for a buzz cut.
@keke/Instagram
The actress recently accentuated her big chop by taking it from brown to purple.
“For years, I was getting pigeonholed into this specific look, this ‘Keke Palmer‘ look. This Black girl with this type of hair look,” said Keke. “But when it gets to the point when you feel like you can’t be you without hair on the top of your head that’s not yours, that’s oppression.”
We’ve since seen Keke rock everything from short blonde pixies to braided mohawks. The key, in Keke’s opinion, is to remember that hair is simply hair, and it’s versatile.
“I can still put a wig on, still rock a weave, but at the end of the day still know that this is my hair. It’s curly, it’s kinky, it’s thick, it’s thin sometimes, and I love that.” We couldn’t agree more!
Read Keke’s full interview on Yahoo Beauty, and be sure to check out her new web series, “That’s The Gag,” on YouTube.