After Fans Believed Keke Palmer Was Eyeing Retirement, She Set The Record Straight And Thank Goodness

Keke Palmer in Nope
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Keke Palmer's long list of movies and shows is proof of just how long she's been in the entertainment industry a long time. She got her breaks with the movies Barbershop 2 and Akeelah and the Bee before really jumpstarting her career on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Since then, she’s appeared in productions over multiple mediums, the Scream series, Scream Queens, Nope, Grease: Live, Human Resources and many, many more. Palmer recently made comments about quitting Hollywood, giving some the impression that she was ready to retire. But, luckily, she’s now set the record straight.

From film to TV to music, Keke Palmer has really done it all. She previously told Teen Vogue that “the timer has started” in regards to her possible retirement. Said comments seemed to make her longtime fans worry that we'd soon be living in a world in which the star didn't join new projects. However, the Password host tells People that everyone apparently took her sentiments out of context and that she doesn’t have any plans to leave Hollywood any time soon:

People took that literally, but I was thinking in like 20 years! But also, what I will say is I meant a different type of ‘slowing down.’ I think there's a version of me that really wants to do more producing, that really wants to do more directing, that wants to do even more work, not only in front of the camera.

Considering that Hustlers star has been acting for 20 years now, it makes sense that she would want to branch out. It sounds like she doesn't necessarily want to leave the industry, just expand her career. On that note, she’s occasionally served as a producer on projects over the years, and her work on that front is now truly expanding. She most recently took on such duties with the series The Cuzzin M Show, and she has four more projects in development, according to her IMDb. She may have a lot in the works, but that may not always be the case:

I'll be still doing stuff, but I don't know if I'm going to always want to be doing three movies a year. That's amazing. Thank god I am doing that. But I don't know if I always want to be doing it at that level or that way.

Not only is she among the many child stars still acting today, but Keke Palmer is also a mom now. So she, naturally, can’t always be on the go, as being a mother definitely takes precedence for her, based on past comments. It also sounds like she just wants to work on other ventures as well, like her music career. She does seem to still love acting, of course, but it might just be time for her to focus on additional endeavors in her life.

It's still worth mentioning that man celebrities have been leaving Hollywood as of late, whether due to a desire for a change of scenery, to quit the industry or for other reasons. Mark Wahlberg left LA with his family for Las Vegas for his children's sake, while Johnny Depp moved to London since he was more at ease with the European lifestyle. Family an also factor into the decision, as it’s the reason Maia Mitchell left Freeform drama Good Trouble.

At the very least, Keke Palmer doesn’t have plans to leave Hollywood just yet. She just doesn’t want to be doing too much at once, which makes sense, given how long she’s been at it and her other priorities. But, thankfully, at this point, she still has quite a lot planned, whether with acting, producing, directing, or singing, and it’s going to be exciting to see what comes next for her.

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.