Keke Palmer doesn’t like sharing details about her business life, but felt it necessary to clear the air regarding the cancellation of “Strahan, Sara & Keke.”
The ABC show that made for the third hour of the network’s “Good Morning America” was canceled in July following its suspension in March for the airing of “Pandemic: What You Need to Know,” a daily news program focused on the coronavirus crisis.
Earlier this month, news came that the early-afternoon talk show wouldn’t return, and instead be replaced with the program that provides daily updates on the pandemic and now is renamed “GMA 3: What You Need To Know.” Palmer joined hosts Michael Strahan and Sara Haines on the show that launched in 2018 — with the name changing to add hers — in August 2019 after making guest co-host appearances over that summer. While the network has remained publicly mum on the details, Palmer confirmed the cancellation news in a social media post that addressed a meme she’s seen floating around.
The meme in question speculates that the seemingly popular show was canned because of a video that went viral that features Palmer protesting and asking members of the National Guard to leave their posts and march with the protesters.
Palmer denied the rumors and described them as “dangerous” in her statement.
“I want to speak on this simply because I hate the narrative that if you speak your mind as a black person that you will in some way be punished,” she wrote. “I have seen this going around and at first I ignored but in this climate I realized this is a dangerous message to send to our generation and the generation coming up.”
She continued, “If anything my speaking out showed the corporations I work with how important my voice is and anyone that has a POV.”
Palmer further shared that the real reason for her departure from the show is purely business related. She explained she was never signed to the show as “one would a seasonal show” and asked that instead of seeing her as a “series regular,” viewers should look at her “as a brand that works with the corporation Disney/ABC News.”
She reassured fans that the change “does not mean the relationship I have with them dies, that means it evolves.”
Palmer admitted that having to go into detail about the whole situation is “weird” for her. She added that remaining true to self and speaking out about racial inequality issues doesn’t have to add up to a job penalty of some kind.
“Trust me,” she assured her fans, “walking in my truth has always made my blessings OVERFLOW and connect to those that are like-minded and not with those that are not.”
