After finding major box office success in One of Them Days and Jordan Peele’s Nope, Keke Palmer is transporting us into another reality with her sci-fi comedy I Love Boosters.
Out on May 22, the latest venture from director Boots Riley stars Palmer as a shoplifter who’s on a quest to re-sell stolen goods from upscale stores. Things get freaky, however, when teleportation, soul-sucking demons and Demi Moore’s problematic billionaire are suddenly thrown into the mix.
Just as I Love Boosters reflects the absurdities of our own reality back at us, Palmer too has always spoken up for her truth, unafraid to speak candidly about the journey she’s taken with her sexuality.
How about we take this to the next level?
Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Earlier this year, Palmer shared an Instagram post for Valentine’s Day where she discussed the strong possibility that she’s asexual.
“Chile, let’s talk about it,” the caption begins. “How was your Valentine’s Day? I spent mine with my mom, sister and son. Then went to a colleagues smashing birthday bash.”
She was sure to remind her fans that “smashing” doesn’t necessarily mean, well, you know…
“Yea, I said smashing,” she added. “Absolutely nothing romantic went down, crazy right! I’m so cute! But I like no one and I’m almost 100% sure I’m asexual. I have no interest in anyone, but I wish I did!”
The comments were overwhelmingly positive, including many that welcomed Palmer into the ace community.
In 2023, Palmer came out as queer during a guest appearance on The Best Podcast Ever with Raven and Miranda. She says she didn’t accept her sexuality until she was 17.
“There is like an unsaid thing that can make you feel—and because I liked guys too, I was kinda like, ‘Well, we don’t have to talk about it,’” she explained. “Because I like guys too, it was like that’s another extra thing that no one really has to know about. I don’t really have to live out.”
That same year, Palmer was honored with a Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “I’m so grateful to be here today to be embraced by a community that I’ve always felt accepted by and a part of,” said Palmer during her acceptance speech, via Variety.
Later in her speech, the two-time Emmy winner choked back tears remembering how she long “questioned the boxes [she] was forced to be in,” recalling how “those walls just try to cave you in from every damn angle.”
These days, Palmer is pushing back with a career she’s carved on her own terms. She inspires others to do the same.
Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.
