Keke Palmer is opening up about motherhood amid remarks made by the father of her child.
Palmer was recently criticized by boyfriend Darius Jackson on social media after the actress attended Usher’s Las Vegas residency wearing a black bodysuit under a sheer dress. “It’s the outfit (though) .. you a mom,” Jackson tweeted in response to video on social media of Palmer and Usher onstage together.
“I’ll be honest, I think before I even had the baby, I was really actually quite self-conscious,” said Palmer in an interview with The Cut published Monday. “After having my baby, I’ve gotten so much more powerful. … We’re going to lean into this new body.
“That is the whole aura of what’s happening with me in this big boss era as I come into my 30s, and I have my baby boy. I’m just continuing to spread my wings as a young woman.”
After receiving backlash on social media for his criticism, Jackson – father of son Leodis – doubled down on his “standards and morals,” tweeting, “we live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife and mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others, and he gets told how much of a hater he is.”
Palmer issued a subtle comeback to Jackson last week, monetizing Jackson’s remarks with the launch of “I’m a motha” t-shirts.
“My headspace is just to continue to inspire and encourage myself and anybody else who wants to go down that road with me. Because we’re growing and we are changing,” Palmer told The Cut. “It’s all about loving who I am and loving what I experienced and what I’ve gone through that’s gotten me here. A lot of gratitude for me.”
Experts have decried Jackson’s behavior as sexist and pointed out the consequences of such attitudes and behaviors.
“The fact that Jackson shamed Palmer in public confirms that he believes it is acceptable to treat a woman, even the ‘mother to his kids,’ with a lack of respect,” Leora Tanenbaum, author of “I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet,” told USA TODAY earlier this month.
In response to the support she’s received from fans defending her, Palmer encouraged new mothers to embrace their authenticity.
“Do you, new moms. Do you,” Palmer said. “Girl, if there’s one person on this earth that loves you for sure, it’s that baby. Be happy because there’s no love like it. Somebody loving you like that, hell, who cares?”
‘I have standards’:Keke Palmer’s boyfriend doubles down amid backlash for criticizing her outfit
Keke Palmer, Darius Jacksonand the problem with his very public comments
Contributing: Naledi Ushe and David Oliver, USA TODAY
