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‘I’m an incomparable talent’: Keke Palmer slams viral 'COLORIST' comparison to Zendaya

A Twitter post sparked a debate claiming Zendaya enjoyed more popularity compared to Palmer despite their careers beginning almost at the same time

Keke Palmer, who is currently basking in the success of Jordan Peele-helmed horror flick ‘Nope’, got dragged into a debate over the weekend that claimed her latest is her breakout role while also being compared to her Zendaya over colorism.
 
A Twitter post sparked a conversation claiming that Zendaya was a bigger star and enjoyed more popularity than Palmer despite starting their career almost simultaneously. The post hinted that it might be due to Zendaya being light-skinned. Clearing the air on the matter, Palmer took to Twitter amid the chaos and called herself an “incomparable talent”. Social media users then got into a heated debate, however, a few also asked why both actors could not be celebrated together.
 
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‘I’m an incomparable talent’

Locking horns with the Internet, Palmer listed her career highlights to settle the dust. “A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone. I’m the youngest talk show host ever. The first Black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon, & the youngest & first Black Cinderella on broadway. I’m an incomparable talent. Baby, THIS, is Keke Palmer,” the 28-year-old actress tweeted.  
 
Continuing to take on the haters, Palmer further said, “I’ve been a leading lady since I was 11 years old. I have over 100+ credits, and currently starring in an original screenplay that’s the number one film at the box office #NOPE. I’ve had a blessed career thus far, I couldn’t ask for more but God continues to surprise me.”

It all started when a Twitter post compared the acting credits of Palmer and Zendaya stating, “I'd like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya's careers. This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood. They were both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different.”
 
For the unversed, Palmer broke out as a child performer after she portrayed the title role in Nickelodeon’s ‘True Jackson, VP’ for three seasons. Other credits for the Emmy-award-winning actress include ‘Akeelah and the Bee’, ‘Scream Queens’, ‘Hustlers’ and Pixar's ‘Lightyear’. Interestingly, Palmer also made it to Time magazine's list of the most influential people in the world in 2019. 

‘Is she dissing Zendaya by saying she’s incomparable’

Social media users took to Twitter to debate over who was better between Palmer and Zendaya. “They’re both amazing actresses for sure! I do think it’s easier for Zendaya to rise faster because of how she looks. For example, racial & color biases are more accepting of a Latina or white passing biracial girl as SpiderMan’s love interest than a median brown skin Black girl,” said one user.

Another posted, “It’s the fact they just wanted to put Zendaya down but were unconsciously putting Keke down too.” One tweeted, “Is she dissing zendaya by saying she’s incomparable or saying you shouldn’t compare success just bc they’re two black women who are successful. Because it could very much go both ways.”
 
Meanwhile, one user posted, “To be fair, they are both light skinned; though Zendaya being lighter favors her more. But this is more about lightskinned girls making it far in the industry more than dark skinned girls. They were not comparing them but drawing attention to the advantages of being light skinned.”

Another individual tweeted, “Black women have not come this far in the entertainment industry just to be pitted against each other because of their shade of black. Can’t the wins be celebrated without the dissection of them?” And one concluded, “Sigh both ladies are talented and they portray the characters they play in their own unique way. not everything is color..smh.”  

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.