Keke Palmer Teaches: 7 Lessons on Making What You Want to Be In
They don't know you? Show them
This TikTok popped up on my FYP. Three creators I follow reposted—shout out to Olive, Abi, and Shonie. I was the fourth to repost. Too rich not to share. Now I’m writing a piece about it.
It was an excerpt from her podcast: Baby, This is Keke Palmer: Falling Outs, Falling in Love & Falling for the Wrong Sign with Rickey Thompson.
Rickey Thompson (actor, comedian, TikToker with 3M followers) recently appeared on Keke Palmer’s podcast, and their conversation about auditioning and rejection sums up so much of how I feel and make my way in the world, in my career. He also was featured in Doechii’s Denial is a River video.
He spoke honestly about going out for roles, being put on hold, then hearing “we loved you, but we’re going in a different direction.” Again and again. The grind. The gut-punch. The self-doubt. Really dragging him down. Crushing.
Keke didn’t sugarcoat her response. Instead, she gave the kind of grounded, experienced advice that only someone who’s lived through it—and outgrown it—can give.
Here’s what she said (and why I haven’t stopped thinking about it). This advice applies not just actors, entertainers, but anyone who has a dream, a vision of themselves that exceeds what is currently available to them. To anyone that has been rejected (over and over) but still knows they have something the world needs to experience, see, learn.
1. Don’t wait for the role—create it
When Hollywood stopped knowing what to do with her, Keke turned to social media—but not just for attention. She came with a plan.
“I would produce the kind of work I wanted to star in.”
Not just clips. Not just trends. Real, traditional-feeling content. Full characters. Mini shows. Proof of concept.
She took money from brand deals and invested in herself—her voice, her stories, her characters. She didn’t just post—she produced.
That shift changed everything.
2. You are the proof of concept
After a run of traditional roles, she felt like people in the industry didn’t see her anymore.
“They weren’t giving me a vehicle to show them who I was.”
So she built her own vehicle. Turned Up With the Taylors—based on a character from her page—led to an Emmy. That’s the Gag led to SNL.
None of this was handed to her. She made the thing she wanted to be cast in. She made herself undeniable.
3. They don’t know what to do with you? Show them.
This part, one thousand times over:
“These people don’t know what to do with you. You gotta show them.”
It’s so simple. So true. And so hard to remember when you’re in the thick of trying to get a yes.
But this is the work. You’re not waiting to get picked—you’re building the thing they’ll wish they said yes to.
Keke referenced Will Smith: “every movie we love him in?” I mean love is a strong word (but get her point).
He produced it.
He didn’t wait around. He made it happen.
Drew Barrymore, same thing. She was producing her own films in her 20s. She launched a company. She greenlit herself.
That’s what this moment is about—for actors, creatives, anyone in a weird in-between place.
You’re allowed to stop asking, “Can I be part of your thing?” and start asking, “What’s the thing I’m making?”
4. Bet on yourself—every time
Keke said it plainly:
“I gotta keep telling them who I am. I have to show the proof of concept with my own dime. I gotta bet on my self—and I’ma do it every time.”
And the thing is—it works.
Even if no one gets it at first. Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s scary.
What matters is: you know what it is. You’re building the world you want to live in.
And if you do that long enough, people start to pay attention.
They start copying you. They start asking you what’s next.
Rickey lit up—shouting “hallelujah” and saying he couldn’t wait to get home and start writing scripts starring himself. I could feel his energy and the light bulb, the open door, that Keke led him through.
I relate hard to this advice. And make sure to underline it when I see successful people telling their stories of how they made it (and literally MADE-IT) on their own terms. Literally me. I can’t talk, I’m all action. People see me and don’t understand, I don’t have time for their waffling or convincing them. I don’t have the patience. I’m stubborn, I’m driven. I will do this myself. Fuck it.
Black, BIPOC, queer, and trans creators are rarely given the same opportunities white, straight, mainstream Hollywood has in the works. The gatekeepers don’t have the vision. They don’t see where you fit in. They won’t.
The truth is, you have to show them. Or better yet—don’t show them. Show the world. Show the people who will understand it.
Keke did that. Will Smith did that—he produced most of the movies he’s in. Drew Barrymore built her own company. Cole Escola—so many we love because they made their own thing. And it pays off. You’re the visionary, leave the boring brains behind.
The ones who make it are the ones who make it themselves. The system wasn’t built for us. And yet—when we do it ourselves, we get to own it.
We don’t owe anyone.
The moment I thought “they don’t know what to do with me” Was in 2012 when every salon I interviewed at wasn’t using social media. Still had outdated ideas on how to gain clients and outdated rules on “earning ur keep”. I opened my own salon and did it my way! Well above the curve, even rented my own loft space in 2013 (also before thst became trendy) and then had a full salon team for the next 9 years!! Learnt so much over those ten years by doing it my own way!! N not needing anyone to “get it” except me :)
I love Keke Palmer. Such smart advice.