Keke Palmer is opening up about her relationship with Darius Jackson.
In a Tuesday, Jan. 14 cover story on The Cut, the actress/musician, 31, discussed the implosion of her relationship with her then-boyfriend, 30, after he criticized a dress she wore to an Usher concert on social media.
Allegations of domestic violence and a custody battle involving their son Leo, 1¾, followed. In 2024, Palmer was granted a domestic violence restraining order against Jackson, which claimed that he physically abused her multiple times during their two-year relationship.
Without trying, Palmer reveals that she became a kind of face for survivors of domestic violence.
“There’s a sensationalization that happens with that word,” she told the publication. “But there really are often no other words to describe such a toxic dynamic.”
The Hustlers star revealed that she made excuses for Jackson over the years due to her nature as a people-pleaser.
“You can say, ‘I know you’re not like that,’ or ‘I know it’s not like this,’ or ‘I know you’re a good person deep down,’” said Palmer. “You can make so many excuses for behavior that could have stopped.”
Ultimately, the birth of her son in February 2023 impacted Palmer’s decision to leave the relationship “before it had the chance of becoming something that I had to survive.”
Meanwhile, the One of Them Days actress was concerned with the media coverage surrounding her relationship with Jackson and how it would affect her brand.
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“I hated it,” said Palmer. “It was my personal junk. It didn’t deserve a place in the center of something that I worked very hard to make encouraging and empowering.”
She added: “When it was happening, it was horrible because I could not get to the message of the story, in real time. Now, I’m able to articulate it, and I’m able to say what the story will be.”
Now, Palmer revealed she and Jackson are now able to co-parent their son peacefully.
In November 2024, the True Jackson alum released her memoir Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative, in which she wrote that her breakup with Jackson was “the hardest thing I ever had to go through.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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