Keke Palmer Says Ryan Murphy Robbed Her During ‘Scream Queens’

Keke Palmer one day she hoped she would be a familiar face inside Ryan Murphys television universe, showing up in his projects in the same way that Emma Roberts, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Darren Criss have done over the years.

But after Murphy allegedly “ripped” Palmer and called her unprofessional while she was playing the lead role Shout queens — Murphy’s short-lived satirical slasher series — Palmer isn’t so sure this is an option for her anymore, but she’s okay with that.

The confession was made in Palmer’s new book, Master of Me: The Secret to Mastering Your Story. The part memoir, part self-help book charts the actress’s two-decade career in Hollywood, detailing both her successes and mistakes along the way. Most importantly, Palmer highlights how she has taken charge of her own story and learned how to stand up for herself.

In one example, Palmer writes about her time on Murphy’s show, which stars Emma Roberts, Glen Powell, Ariana Grande, Lea Michele and Jamie Lee Curtis. With a busy work schedule, Palmer says she used one of her days off from filming to fulfill another business obligation. However, Palmer says she ended up being needed on set when she was supposed to be away. She ultimately decided to fulfill the obligation she had already committed to, which reportedly earned her an angry phone call from Murphy.

“It was a bit like being in the dean’s office,” Palmer says Los Angeles Times columnist Amy Kaufman in an interview. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen you act like that.’ I can’t believe you, of all people, would do something like this. ”

Palmer apologized and said she believed the matter had been smoothed over, until one of her co-stars addressed the issue, saying the incident was “bad” and trying to “scare me or something, which was a little annoying,” Palmer says .

Palmer has not starred in a Murphy project since. “I’m still not sure Ryan cared or understood, and that’s okay because he was just focused on his business, which for me isn’t a problem,” Palmer writes in her book. “But what I do know is that even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I see myself as a business too.”

The whole experience of filming the two-season show didn’t seem all that great to Palmer, who also highlighted another incident during filming. A white actor – who Palmer nicknamed “Brenda” in the book – allegedly made a racist comment to Palmer on set.

Palmer had been trying to calmly settle a dispute when Brenda allegedly asked Palmer, “Who do you think you are?” Martin, damn Luther King?

“What she said was so heavy, but I didn’t allow that weight to be projected onto me because I know who I am,” Palmer said in her interview. “I am not a victim. That’s not my storyline, honey. I don’t care what her ass said. If I allowed what she said to paralyze me, then she would.