Keke Palmer is once again keeping it real when it comes to love, power, and gender roles. In a recent interview with Bevy Smith, the multi-hyphenate entertainer opened up about how successful women are judged for dating men who earn less—and used none other than Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham to make her point.
“Who did y’all want her to be with—Barack Obama?” Palmer asked with a mix of humor and frustration, pointing out how unfair it is that Oprah has long been criticized by haters for her relationship with Stedman. “That doesn’t make sense, guys.”
Palmer and Smith were discussing outdated gender norms, particularly how society often shames women with money and status for not dating “up”—a double standard not applied to men.
“No one cares when a man finds his woman under a bridge,” Palmer said bluntly. “But I frankly don’t care. If that’s who you love, that’s who you love.”
She continued by saying she doesn’t need a man’s money—just love, respect, and support. “Let me tell you one thing that Keke don’t need: money from nobody. Now, if you want to give a little something, you can get my nails done, something cute,” she joked.
Palmer also called out the way Stedman Graham has been compared for years, despite having his own successful career as an author and businessman. “How dare people compare you to your lover?” she said. “I hate that Oprah had to endure that. And I hate that Stedman had to endure that.”
For Palmer, the message is simple: “You were supposed to be my Stedman,” she said, recalling a moment she shared with her father. “My dad said, ‘Yeah, ’cause why didn’t he want to be Stedman?’”
In the end, Palmer is flipping the narrative and making space for a new kind of love story—one where women don’t have to apologize for their success, and where being someone’s Stedman is a badge of honor.
Watch the clip at the link.
