“So, you know, it’s so funny,” began Keke Palmer during Sunday’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen After Show, after a fan asked if Angela Bassett has reacted to Keke’s years of impersonating the Wakanda Forever actress. “I’ve been doing Angela Bassett impersonations since I was a kid,” said Keke, 28. “And she’s never said anything to me about it ever. … whenever I see her, she’s like, ‘Heeeeey!’ And we just move forward.” From there, Keke gave tips on how to do your own Angela and how to nail a Kerry Washington impression at your next party.
Keke’s Angela recently went viral when she spoke with Wired as part of their ongoing Autocomplete Interview series. “Everybody always tells me I look like Angela Bassett,” she said. From there, Keke shared her two impressions of the 63-year-old icon. “There’s one I do from American Dream: The Michael Jackson Story, where she finds out that her husband’s been cheating on her, and she answers the phone and hears him on the other line, talking to somebody,” said Keke, before conjuring up Angela. “With Angela, it’s all in the lips,” said Keke. “It’s all in the lips.” The second comes from What’s Love Got To Do With It, and it’s pretty amazing. (She does the impressions around 7:20 in the below video.)
While Keke seems okay with being compared to Angela Bassett, she wasn’t pleased with a July 23 tweet where someone suggested someone do 0 “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.” The tweet went viral, with many discussing the issues. Ultimately, Keke had her say.
“A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,” tweeted Keke a day after the initial tweet. “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.”
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.🥹🥳❤️🙏🏾
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) July 24, 2022
“I’ve been a leading lady since I was 11 years old,” she said in a follow-up tweet. “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.”