Keke Palmer has strong opinions about the double standards around gender roles in dating. The actress doesn’t think powerful women have to date men in the same pay grade as them. During a recent interview with Bevy Smith, on Radio Andy, Palmer explained her views. When Smith mentioned Oprah Winfrey’s longtime partner Stedman Graham being the butt of jokes over the years (for not being as successful as Oprah), the actress blamed gender rules.
“People feel like, ‘Well, she’s Oprah Winfrey… who did y’all want her to be with? Barack Obama?’ That doesn’t make sense, guys,” she said, frustratedly.
Palmer explained that powerful women aren’t left with many options when it comes to dating and alluded to it being unrealistic to look for love, a man who earns a certain amount of money, and the other criteria.
“Nobody cares if a man finds his woman under a bridge. Nobody cares. And I frankly don’t care. If that’s who you love, that’s who you love. Why do we have to deal with that? That to me makes no sense,” the 31-year-old said.
The One Of Them Days actress made it clear that money isn’t a priority when it comes to dating and she’s more focused on intangible qualities.
“Look, my Daddy told me a man needs to treat you right, he needs to handle and service you in whatever way you need service,” she explained. “Let me tell you one thing that Keke don’t need; money.”
That said, Palmer is still open to her man spending money in thoughtful ways like dropping some cash for her to get her nails done or get something nice.
Keke has been consistent with her take on dating and this isn’t the first time she’s been ready to die on this hill. During an interview with Club Shay Shay in 2024, Palmer shared that she’s a fan of 50/50 in dating because she became a millionaire at 12-years-old and doesn’t expect prospects to have achieved the same. Additionally, Palmer said she watched her parents split bills so that’s the norm for her.
The comment section under a clip of the interview posted by SiriusXM radio station garnered mixed views. While some commenters agreed with Palmer, others argued women shouldn’t have to lower their standards because men can’t get their money up. The singer popped into the comment section to gracefully reinforce her opinion.
“People should be allowed to exist in life free from comparisons. Just because someone isn’t a millionaire doesn’t mean their BROKE. And just cause somebody has money doesn’t mean their kind, vise versa, do what works for you. This economy is crazy everybody working gig to gig. Long as you handling your business you alright with me. ❤️🔥” the Nickelodeon actress wrote.