Club Shay Shay - Club Shay Shay - Keke Palmer Part 1

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

In this episode of Club Shay Shay, Shannon Sharpe sits down with the incomparable Keke Palmer for a candid and uplifting conversation about her groundbreaking career and personal journey. From her childhood in Robbins, Illinois, to becoming an Emmy and NAACP Image Award-winning actress, Keke opens up about the milestones and challenges that have shaped her life. As the youngest actress nominated for a SAG Award in a lead role, the first Black woman to star in her own Nickelodeon show, and the youngest talk show host in TV history, Keke reflects on her history-making accomplishments and shares the lessons learned along the way. She recounts her rise to fame with Akeelah and the Bee and True Jackson, VP, and how her parents’ sacrifices allowed her to pursue her dreams while staying grounded amidst the pressures of stardom. Keke also dives into her experiences navigating fame as a child star and breadwinner for her family, her homeschooling journey, and the personal challenges of growing up in the public eye. She shares heartfelt reflections on the impact of becoming a mother, how it has deepened her appreciation for her parents, and how it influences her career choices today.   #volume  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Tyson's journey to recovery reminds us that no fight is easy. With every bumpy start, each setback and moments that could have broken him, he kept pushing forward. I never knew what the spiral was coming up in my life. I never knew I was going to go in there deep to this hopelessness and how so many millions of people feel like that but have no help. Listen to the CINO show on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search the CINO show on America's number one podcast network, iHeart.

Open your free iHeart app and search the CINO show and start listening. I'm looking at the Disney movie Jump In, 12 years old. And I think if I'm not mistaken, that was your first kiss. Yes! I was 12 and Corbin was 17. You know? Ah man, he be in jail now. He going to jail. I experienced the same thing in another movie that I did where the guy was, I think he was, I was 17 and he was like 27.

You like a motor, huh? That's what Michelle said. I did, oh No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I used to swipe all my life I've been grinding all my life Hello welcome to another episode of Club Cheche I am your host Shannon Sharp I'm also the proprietor of Club Cheche The lady that's stopping by for conversation on a drink today really needs no introduction but I'm gonna give her one and it's well deserved She was a bona fide superstar before she could even obtain a drivers permit She's been a leading lady since she was 11

years old She's one of Time Magazine's most influential people in the world. She's the youngest actress to receive a SAG award for a nomination in a lead role. She's the youngest talk show host in television history. She's the first black woman to star in her own show on Nickelodeon. She's the first black and the youngest to play Cinderella on Broadway. She's the first black and she went on outstanding host for a game show at the Emmys. The first black woman to host the MTV Video Music Awards, a passionate voice for the millennial generation, a multi-decade entertainer in the industry of veteran, multi-talented actor, singer,

songwriter, producer, director, host, dancer, TV personality, network executive, voice author, podcast, entrepreneur, she's a boss. She's an all-around entertainer, she's a pop icon, she's a feed mom, a trailblazer, trendsetter, an Emmy and an NAACP Image Award winner. She has over 100 credits to her credit. Check this out. She's always booked, she's always busy. And of all the things that I mentioned,

the thing that she's most proud of is that she's a mom. The one, the only, the incomparable, Kee Kee Palmer. Oh my gosh! Now why'd you stop? That was so lovely. Thank you. Oh my gosh. Thank you for having me on the show.

I love the show. Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm excited to be here. And people say, well, Shani, you love to give people the flowers. I don't give people what they deserve. I give people what they earn. And everything that I read, you've earned that. So congratulations. I really received

that. Thank you so much. So we're gonna toast some water. Okay. To all the things that you've accomplished and will continue to accomplish. Thank you for coming on. Thank you. This has been a long we met at the Webby's for first time, and I think it was in April. Yep, yep. And we tried to like, I would love to have you on the show. She's like, I'm gonna come, I would love, I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love,

love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love,

love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, Illinois, Dee Wade is from Robbins, Illinois. Yes. How much do you remember about your childhood and dreaming of this Kiki? So I remember a tight-knit community who was always going to church every Sunday. You know what I mean? My dad had become ordained, became a deacon. By the time I was like, I think eight years old, I would hear my parents talk often

about how they fell in love. They did a speech tournament that took them to Louisiana. That's when they first had papas. And then after that, they kind of, you know, slowly but surely, the dreams were deferred. They did theater at the Black Ensemble Theater with Jackie Taylor. Shout outs to her, which is still going on, the Black Ensemble Theater. But it just wasn't something that they could ultimately maintain. You know, my dad started working in a factory job. My mother was a substitute teacher for mentally challenged children.

And then we would just hear of these stories. And I would always think to myself, that would be cool to be a part of that thing that it seemed to have made them so happy. Right. Two parent household, obviously. And if I'm not mistaken, your parents, you mentioned in the theater, but they kind of gave up their dreams and passion to help you pursue yours. After becoming a mom and you know the sacrifices

that you have to make, do you understand, are you more appreciative now knowing what your parents did in order for you to become who you became? I'm blown away by my parents and what they were able to do. And I talk about this a lot in my book in terms of You know we talk about like the the sacrifices that parents make but I don't think we often talk about the personal Sacrifices that they make in their personal discomfort, right? There's discomfort that we live in, you know Self-loathing or you know not believing in ourselves anxiety depression Whatever you may have it and those are the biggest things that I think about

That my parents gave up for me to do what I want to do. And I remember a particular story where my mom, we had to go do a movie. I got a role in a William H. Mason movie called The Wool Cap. It was like my first big thing. It was in Montreal, Canada. And my mom told me later on, she said, I was so scared to go out there.

I met your father when I was 19. We were together ever since then. So to leave and be separated from him and go with you to another country, especially one as different as Montreal, Quebec, you know, that's French speaking, totally. She said, I was so scared, but when I looked at you and I knew that you weren't afraid to do it,

that made me say, well, I gotta let this go. And so it's the same for me. I've found so much strength in things that I never thought that made me say, well, I got to let this go. And so it's the same for me. I've found so much strength in things that I never thought that I could overcome, because, hey, I got to show up for my son. And so I think that is the beautiful superpower of parenthood. Being a parent and seeing how it is, because a lot of kids

now grow up in a single family household, a single parent household, excuse me, but knowing that you had your mom and your dad there, what was that experience like? Because that's all you knew. Was it like that in Robbins? Most households had double parents? No, it wasn't. And it's funny because me and my sister were kind of annoyed at that because our parents were gay. We weren't because everybody else would be like, I'm going to my dad's this weekend. I'm going to my mom's and I got two birthday parties. We were like, damn, we only got, my mom and daddy always stick together.

They're always on the right page. It was annoying to us a little bit as kids. But it definitely is something that I grew up saying, realizing after the fact that that was important, just seeing them stick together. I don't know if it was just the fact that they were together or if it was the fact that they just agreed and were together. They maybe argued in the back, but when they showed up in front of us, they were together or if it was the fact that they just agreed and were together. Like they maybe argued in the back,

but when they showed up in front of us, they were a united front. And I would try to- They were united against y'all. They were united against us. And I would try to be like, well, dad said, or well, mom actually, why's she so mean to you?

They would never break, ever, ever, ever. And so that I really admire. And it showed me what it was like, you know, to have real unity. Did you ever think about how different your life would have been had you not had the parents that you had? If my parents didn't uproot their lives and move, drive four days and three nights to California to help me to pursue my dreams, yeah, I don't know.

But the funny thing about it is I don't know many parents that would do that. That was just their particular path. And I think even if we take the dramatics out of that exact trip and this exact thing to be keep armor, my parents, ultimately, what they did was show me that I had a choice. And I would like to believe that even if I didn't become an entertainer, if I just stayed in Chicago, we stayed

in Illinois, whatever we did, they were going to show me in multiple ways that I had options because that was something that they didn't have. And I think that's also something that I learned and realized because there was a time period when I was a teenager and I was being exposed to so much that they allowed me to be exposed to that separated us for a minute. And I kind of did that thing that you do when you're young. My parents just don't get it, they just don't understand. But I am who my parents would have been had they had the opportunities that they gave me.

How much are you like your parents? I'm just like my parents. I think in every way. So my dad, he is super funny, likes to make jokes on himself, always like to be the life of the party, encouraging people. You know, I think I love to be a service in that way.

That's where my sense of humor comes from. I want to make people feel good, especially in these times. I've leaned more in my humor in terms of the arts because I feel like that's what we need to laugh. My mom is very like disciplined. She's like, this is what you got to do. She's committed to what she said she's going to do. She's going to finish it the whole way through.

Also very dramatic, honey I will give you a scene whether I'm on stage or off stage You know, so I feel like I'm a lot like them. I don't know if I'm if I'm actually that different from them I feel like I really am like them just in another, you know age group, you know genre Right you mentioned that if I'm not mistaken you feel barbershop You were still you feel You came to LA after you had done the Barbershop. Yes, right. That's right.

Was that the moment that your parents realized like, okay, in order for her to reach her ultimate, we're going to have to uproot this family. We're going to have to go. Yes. And they mentioned that. They would say that, I mean, after I did Barbershop, I think I also had did American Juniors, which was like Fremantle's version of American Idol for kids. And I got my golden ticket and I actually got to go to California. That was the first time we visited California. And my mom, I think she saw me going.

You know, it's so funny. I'm not an athlete, right? But when I think about the NFL and I think about sports, it's very similar to being a child entertainer. There's a system. You got to show up. You're working for a corporation. I mean, NFL is a corporation system, you gotta show up. You're working for a corporation, NFL's a corporation, you gotta show up, you gotta do this.

And I think my mom saw when I was in American Juniors, when they put me through all the different things, singing, dancing, performing, she saw that I was ready, and I was ready to take it seriously. And so that's what made them say, well, if we wanted to have more opportunities, California may be where we need to go. And so it took some time, you know,

but eventually they agreed and we went. Your mom was, is still your manager? Yes, yes she's here. That's the only manager you've ever had, correct? No, I've actually had multiple different managers, but she's always stayed. I would like to think of it as, you know, my mom, you know, was a CMO, now I'm the CMO,

you know what I mean? But she started the Kiki Palmer brand and we've worked with other people very successfully, most successfully now, my current managers who are awesome. So let me ask you a question. Going on these auditions, obviously your mom is going on you with all these auditions, was there ever a situation where you were like nervous or you didn't feel like

you gave your best effort and your mom pulled your signs and said, Kiki, come on now, you're better than this. Yes, it was an audition for Are We There Yet? OK. OK, I wanted to be in that movie too bad. I was like, OK, this is Ice Cube. I just did the barbershop. Like, I got to get Are We There Yet?

And I knew when I did the audition, it just wasn't right. Something wasn't right about it. It just, I knew it didn't go well and I was really sad I remember having a conversation with my mom And I don't know if it was right after the audition or if it was some time after that we had spoke about that And she just said you weren't ready And that's something that my mom has always told me is that timing is everything You just weren't ready and that's okay. You know,

it's kind of like what we say today like let me cook. I had to keep cooking. You know what I mean? Like I need you know and I think that's the things like you have so many good experiences up until you know I was getting I got barbershop too and then I think I got like a little you know a picture thing you know for scholastic or whatever and I was booking stuff and I was feeling good but there are always those things that happen to let you know like there's still other levels you got to grow through and learn from and in order to do that you actually got to lose some right away and Yeah, that's what I remember that already there yet But then it's funny because I ended up doing a few years later, right?

I ended up doing the long shots and it's a funny story with the long shots that I did with ice cube is originally they gave me the part right out and then Fred Durst became the director and all of a sudden they gave us a call. We've been working on this movie for a year. They were talking about this movie with me and him and he was like, I don't want her. And I was like, dang, that's crazy. Like how quickly they can just move you off of a movie. So I was just like, you know, I was kind of down about it.

And then like maybe six months, five months passed, they said, it's not working out with the girl. We need Kiki. And I was like, this is crazy. But again, it's one of those moments where what's for you is for you. And that's what I always love to think of that story because even the director couldn't get me

off that damn movie. And I probably can do better than you, you know, NFL. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! So would you like, did you, like when you, because like you said, you gotta take some A's in order to get the majority of the wins. That's right. Did you ever become disillusioned?

Did you ever look, damn, maybe this ain't, maybe this ain't for me. Oh yeah. I definitely have. I remember after I did True Jackson VP, my TV show, I was about 17, 18, like that 17, 18, 19, it was really hard because you're kind of too old for the kid roles kind of, but then you're also too young for the old, exactly.

And I remember having a conversation with my mom and I was just like, man, this is tough. I don't know how I'm going to transition this over. I don't know how I'm going to move past this. And she said, well, we can end this now. You can take the money that you have, you can go to college, study something that you feel excited about, or you can push through this.

You can push through this period and get to the other side in your career. So it's really the conversation of stay a career person or go to school and try to really start something new maybe or take a pause. And I stuck with my career. I think I found a lot of freedom in the digital era, producing my own content. Shout outs to people like King Bach who really helped me in that era as well, like learning how to use it to my benefit, tell my stories. But it was a really tough period.

And I just, what it is is you just don't know what to do. You don't know where to go, what to turn, because you're kind of creating your own blueprint. And I was desperately not trying to be stuck in the same traditional system that really didn't always have a place for me. But once you got into the movie, the television, and things like that, was there ever really a thought

of being anything else? I know your mom said, well, babe, you can stop here and transition and go and do the collegiate thing and then become a, be a career person, or you can continue on. But it would be hard for me to believe that, because once I started playing football, football was it. It wasn't nothing else that even entered my thought.

So did it even enter your thought that you could be something else other than what you were, the track you were on? No, I didn't. But you know what's so funny is like at the bottom of it, there is always something that is bigger than what it is on the surface. Like I love entertainment,

but really I feel like I'm a social scientist. I like people. I'm curious social scientist. I like people. I'm curious of people. I like to tell stories of humanity. I feel like we all are so alone here and I like to talk about the fact that we never want to talk about it, even though that's the one thing we could relate on and create a community out of. And so as I, you know, you have to have enough experiences to have the clarity around.

So that's why I love this. You know, I'm sure you had the same thing. Like you probably, I don't know what it is, but like there's probably a bigger reason why you love football that speaks to all the other around. So that's why I love this. I'm sure you had the same thing. I don't know what it is, but there's probably a bigger reason why you love football. That speaks to all the other things you do. And that's how it was for me. But I didn't know that at 18, 19. And that was a part of the struggle,

that external validation of I'm an actress, I'm an entertainer, and this is who I am. But no, no, that's just one of the things I do. And also, I don't really do it for that. I do it for something else. What is that deeper thing that I do it for? And that was the, that was the living that I've been having where I'm able to now be able to speak to it

in a way that I just couldn't do. I didn't have the experience. The Emirates NBA Cup is here. You can win big getting in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA. All 30 teams split into six groups every Tuesday and Friday, playing for the right to advance into a single elimination in-season tournament culminating in the NBA Cup Championship in Las Vegas. First time, here's something special for you. New Draft King customers

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Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. See dkng.com slash promos for deposit, wagering, and eligibility restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. Before you, your family relocated to LA,, you doing some of the things that you were doing in that community, what was it like for you in school? So at first, in my school experience, I was from what, kindergarten, preschool, kindergarten, up until maybe like the fourth or fifth grade. First I went to a private school and that was kind of tough

because Illinois, a lot of people don't know, it is quite segregated. I grew up in a town, my town, Robbins, was like an all-black town. I went to Catholic church and it took me years to realize that all Catholic churches wasn't full of only black folks. What I mean?

If you went to my church, you would probably would have thought we were Baptists. So I didn't have that initial experience of what it was like to kind of have that weirdness of racial discourse. And so it was weird for me a little bit in a private school. That was a tough thing to be the only black kid in my class. So I had a different experience there

than I had when I went to public school, which was a little bit more diverse around the time I was about seven. And there I felt like, you know, I was voting for president. I felt like I felt liked, you know what I mean? You know, felt a little bit more like I had an opportunity to kind of be myself and I was embraced. But it was short lived because, I mean, I started acting at nine and then we moved to

California when I was 10. And at that point, I just was homeschooled. So I didn't have any real school experience, Although I will say, as we all know, school, high school, the middle school, all of those dynamics play out, even if you ain't in school. So I experienced them in other ways. That's interesting, because you were homeschooled since you were probably 11, 12?

That's right. 11 to 12 being homeschooled, do you ever miss out, like, man, I would have liked to have been in first period and carried on and things like that? Do you ever think about like man, I wonder what it would have been like to be in first period and Oh my god, things like that. Do you ever ever think about what it could have been? You still who you are but still have the experience of going to school. No, I thought about it all the time I so desperately want to know what it was like to like have a fight in the hallway They ring the bell we go and I think that's also why I loved acting because it allowed me to be things that I couldn't be or That I wished I was or that I hadn't had

the experience of being. But yes, I, as a kid, I wanted nothing more than to know what it was like to have experiences outside of being famous, you know what I mean? I think that fame thing even made it more difficult for me to have authentic experiences, because once you've perceived me, it's hard for me to introduce you to something new. And so that was

really tough, especially when I'm trying to engage with my community that now sees me as an outsider at times because I'm you know, seen in this privilege. I'm Stephen McFarland therapist, life coach, change agent, who helps everyone from celebrities, athletes, ex gang members, through their addictions and help them wake up. In each episode by podcast, we hear inspirational stories, we draw lessons from those who have made it through their addiction and recovery to a better place, including legendary boxer,

heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. I feel like there's always been a calling for you, something higher. boxer, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. I believe they might learn from each other. Why are you here? You think this show people, you know, anything's possible You don't give up anything's possible Listen to the Cino show on I heart radio app Apple podcast wherever you get your podcast Right, but when you like you said you introduced him but someone's perception of you might not be who you are But how do you change that perception of them of you might not be who you are, but how do you change that perception of them? Of you? How do you get them to change that perception of you to them? Because that's what I mean. You see this all you see me as, as this actress and this this and this entertainer,

but I'm more fascinated than that. Yeah, I think that for me, I try to focus less on changing their mind and more so on being objective about how I want to get my message across. My criticism is to self. My criticism isn't to trying to control or change how other people perceive me, but it's about do I feel like I got that point across? People feel it or not, that's up to them how they're going to perceive that.

But do I feel that I've done my best and how I want to show up for myself? Am I speaking and using language that I feel like represents've done my best and how I wanna show up for myself and my speaking and using language that I feel like represents me to the fullest. If I'm doing that and I feel good about that, that's really all I can go by because you really can't control other people's perception of you. But you do have the autonomy to show up

how you wanna be perceived. Gotcha. You shot a Disney pilot that didn't get picked up. Kickin' Jamal. Did you like, man, oh man, whew. And you, because I'm thinking, talking to you, listening to you, you're a very confident person. You believe in Kiki.

Okay. But when that didn't get picked up, what did that do to you mentally? You're like, damn, I just knew this was going to be my big, big break. What did that do to you mentally? You're like, damn, I just knew this was gonna be, this was gonna be my big, big break. What did I think? I wanna go back to that moment and really tell you what I thought. I think I was down and I think I was surprised.

Cause like you say, I've always been quite confident, but it's weird because I've always had this relationship with myself where there's a voice inside my head that will say, well, hey, they f***ed up. I don't know what that is. I wish I could describe what that is. But like, when things didn't go my way, and maybe it was the encouragement of my parents or maybe it was a relationship that I had with self growing up, you know, when you pray as a kid and stuff, that's fostering also the personal conversation

with yourself inside. So I don't know if I just was comfortable with that and just decided to have a positive look on things. But when I was younger, a lot of times, before I hit a place where, yeah, it was tough and it was hard for me to tell myself something positive, most of the time, if a movie or a role or something, I would say, they've made a big

mistake or wow, so where am I going now? Because I know if this isn't it, God has something else for me. I don't know why that would be that way, but I just would think, well, you're not going to take away gold and give me silver. I do love silver though. Then you get the role, Madea's Family Reunion. Yes. Do you remember auditioning for that and how did that role come about?

You know, it's so funny, I didn't audition for that at all. I actually had did a Keylander B with Lionsgate. So we had already done a Keylander B and they were figuring out the distribution and when that movie was gonna come out. In the midst of them doing that, they had did a big screening for Keylander B at Lionsgate. They were so excited about this movie. So they did a big screening and one of the people that were in the screening was Tyler Perry

and he was doing Medea's Family Reunion and randomly they said he's doing Medea's Family Reunion. You know my family, we were huge fans. I remember before I became an entertainer sitting up at my Uncle Ronald house, okay, on my auntie Lonsetta couch. Watching the plays. And we was watching the plays, okay. So I was like, oh my gosh, Tyler has called us, and they were like, he wants you to come and do a table read, so we did the table read. The next thing you know, I got the role, I'm in Atlanta shooting Medea's Film Reunion.

Wow. That was crazy, that was crazy. Your big break though, was really Akeelah and the Bee. That was the movie that put Kee Kee Palmer okay. Yeah. She legit. She legit, yeah, she legit, she is, yeah, the kid that was doing the roles and all that, okay. Yeah, she legit. Yeah, she legit. She she is. Yeah, the kid that was doing the roles and all that. No, she's a bona fide. She's someone that's going to be reckoned to be reckoned with. Not only now, but moving forward. What was that role? And how did you like I mean, you played it? Oh, my God. You did you did the thing. Oh my gosh, thank you. You did the thing.

Oh, thank you so much. When I think about that movie now, I mean, my mom was so like, I remember we were in the room, whatever, and she was like, oh yeah, I got this new script. They want you audition for, I'm about to read it. It's called A Keen in the B. It sounds like an animation, but we'll see.

So she, I remember her. My mom is so dramatic, like I'm telling you. She comes out of the room, she's like, you have to do this movie. Wow. I'm like, mom, please, like, it's too much. There's something I'm sharing, it's too much. You have to do this movie. Wow. I'm like, Mom, please. Like, it's too much.

There's something I'm sharing that's too much. And she's like, I'm telling you, we need to do a tape read of this as a family. So she had us all doing it. I mean, my dad was playing Javier. You know what I'm saying? I only had to play Akilah. She was playing the mama. My sister was playing Dr. Lebrie.

And we all read it. And at the end, we all were like, oh, I have to do this movie. Wow. We were all, and we just felt like it was, I think it's everything that we care about. It's about community. It's about the beauty in our community.

And it's about words and language and how it's very springy, especially when you think about a young black girl being able to express herself through words. Yes. And just the history of who we are as a people and how words often were kept from us. It has so many deep layers that I think we don't even have to say, we just feel intrinsically. And I just think about the scene where she says,

I don't need help from a truculent, super silliest garden, a dictatorial truculent, super silliest garden. It's like knowing that she was not only able to express herself with those words, but also embody what they meant. It is so freeing. And then poker to the fact that that was her final word. And it means beautiful. And it was the one word that she was struggling when she did not know how to accept herself in her community.

But at the end, when she realized that her community was love and they were beautiful, even in all of what they experienced as a grown woman mother now, I get why that movie was so impactful. You know, and it is the gift that keeps giving. You know, how when you shot that movie, how long afterwards did people forget that your name was Kiki and call you Akilah? Literally, people still to this day call me Akilah. They'll come up to me and be like, Akilah, Akilah, or they'll be like, stop popping that gum.

That still is the most popular thing that people do when they see me, literally. You mentioned Tyler Perry and you've been in a Madea family reunion and I've heard a lot of women said Tyler Perry has paid me more money than anybody else in Hollywood. Her Taraji say that I heard Megan Good say that I heard a few other women say that. Yeah. When we talk about the pay disparity, not just for men to women, but from white women to black women. Yeah. Even Viola Davis, the incomparable, she got an ego. I mean, she got them all. Has said that the pay that she receives

and no one is more accomplished than she is. Why do you think it's so hard for Hollywood to accept a Taraji, Tiki, Viola, any of them, Megan Good, accept a Taraji, Tiki, Viola, any of them, Megan Good, and see them as they see their counterparts. Because they don't have to. I mean, it's a terrible thing, but I think for me, the biggest thing that I think about in those regards is like, how can we come together

and how can we do our own things? How can we show up for each other more? You know a lot of times we have these actors that come out on the front line and they're talking about this and then no one goes to see the movie. That don't help us. You know the comments, we need the million seats in the theater if you really care about me not getting paid. You know what I'm saying? Show up, watch the movie, show through the numbers that there's an audience for this. But it's one of those things where I feel like I'm in a place in my life, and I talk about this

in my book, where it's like, I cannot change all these systems. And I'm also, I don't wanna keep telling the people that are literally benefiting the least to stand out there on the front lines and lose jobs. I mean, I have so many friends and people in this industry that are losing jobs fighting for something that they aren't even directly benefiting from, that I then just want to turn around and say, let's come together.

I know that feels cliche, but like, literally, that's what it'll take is to come together, figure out how to create a system that can continue to feed itself within our community. And that's, I mean, it's not easy to do that. One of the only people that I think has ever done something like that is Tyler Perry. And that's why I mean, it's not easy to do that. You know, one of the only people that I think has ever done something like that is Tyler Perry. And that's why I continue to give him his props. Because it's not easy to step away from a corporation. He did the first few media movies with Lionsgate and then decided to do them on his own.

And people said whatever they wanted to say, or it's not this, it's not that, okay, well, he was figuring out the numbers so that he could stand on his own. And that he could do it the way that he feels it should be done. And I just feel like that we should encourage each other to do it, to try to do it that way, because you're not going to be able to change something as it stands. Right. But you can change yourself and how you work in it. Right. I'm looking at the Disney movie Jump in 12 years old.

And I think if I'm not mistaken, that was your first kiss. Yes. So that was your first kiss. Yes. So how did that go over with your parents? So you know it was actually a big thing for all of us because I was 12 and Corbin was 17 you know. Oh man he been in jail now he going to jail. So that was very weird. Yes. And he was such a brother vibe to me, even though Corbin's adorable, he's so cute, we all love the hair. Right.

It was like, that wasn't the relationship we had. And so I remember I had a call with my agent, and I was like, you know, I'm scared about this. This is weird. And she was like, well, you know, making good had to kiss Samuel L. Jackson and Eve's value. So. And I was just like,

huh? I got, I just thought, why would that make, what am I supposed to do with that? Yeah, that's me, I've heard, that's me. Yeah, I feel like she, that was weird too. You know what I mean? And I don't really know what to make of that. You know, it's like, this is our craft, this is our art.

I think there's a weird thing that happens with kid entertainers where we have to literally dissociate so much. Yes. As an adult would in the workplace in ways that's not normal or common. Correct. And to tell these stories. And I don't really know what to make of it, but what I would say is what I've always said to my mom

is that I wish that there was more therapy for kid entertainers on set. You know what I'm saying? Like I wish there was more people to help them process. And you know, of course they have, you know, what is it, intimacy coaches, and they talk things through. And I'm sure that's the experience of any of these kinds of situations,

but it still is hard to differentiate from, is this my real life experience or is this someone else? And yeah, it's weird. It's just like a thing, you know what I mean? I experienced the same thing in another movie that I did where the guy was, I think he was, I was 17 and he was like 27. You like a motorhunt.

That's what Michelle said. I don't know. I don't know. No, no, no, no. Come on, Kiki. Come on, Kiki. That's what Michelle said. Oh no! Oh my goodness! Come on Kiki! Come on Kiki! It's too soon! You walked me into it!

You've been waiting for that! It's too soon Kiki! They don't call you hunky hunky for nothing? You know go ahead! See Kiki that is too, I did not expect. Okay, the scene you were 17. He was 27. Yeah. I do. Very weird. I do the glass. Go ahead. Go ahead. Pour it up. Can I get a glass back? Oh, Lord, how blessed. But yes, it's it's like the age differences and all that stuff.

It's a, you know, it's a thing. I just remember, you know, I got off that call, I'm thinking about jumping and Corbin was like, talking to me holding my hand being a sweet person and the kiss was like five seconds. It was, but that but again, just the art of being an entertainer and being a sweet person and the kiss was like five seconds. It was, but that, but again, just the art of being an entertainer and being a child, it's a very difficult thing to process all the time because you're dealing with really big adult things. And yeah, you know. When did you realize that, okay, this is the job I'm acting acting this is not truly what it is

How how soon were you able to delineate between the two? Well that took some time that took some time I would like to say I didn't start There would be an element of method acting. I remember I was doing Joyful noise with Queen Latifah She had seen me and my mom were getting ready to do this crying scene, and me and my mom would do this thing, where we would talk, and we would have to pull from, I'd have to pull from like, my life,

or thinking about dark things about my life, because I had not had yet really enough experience to understand how to draw a correlation between me and my character. And I think that was really like a heavy way to go about getting to the emotion, because it would be impossible to create delineating factors between my life and my characters. But I think as time has gotten, you know, more, I've had more experiences in my life, I've been able to recognize myself on my character without thinking that I am

my character. And I've been able to separate myself in other ways. You know what I mean? Like I think, I moved away from California for a while. That helped me. I remember when I did Broadway for the first time. Right. At 21. That was kinda like the first time that I ever experienced a lot of time away from California,

which is very much an industry bubble a lot of the time. Right. And I experienced other worlds. Like, oh, everybody doesn't care about what I do. In And I experienced other worlds like, Oh, everybody doesn't care about what I do. In New York, I'm like, some people are into Wall Street, some people into fashion, some people in the theater, some people are into, you know, there's so many other things that people are interested in. And I think that also helped me to to understand what it means to step outside of one particular space, and that I'm not what

I do. This is just something that I do. That I do. Is there any type of scene that even now that Kiki would be unwilling to do? Would you do like a nude scene or would you do like a sex? Yeah, those I'm not into that. You know, like, you know, giving you just, hey, we titties out. You know what I mean?

I don't know about that. You know what I mean? I don't know, I just don't feel, I don't think I feel confident in that to really go ahead and do that. I'm not mad at a love scene, but it's like what kind, what kind of choreography are we doing? You know what I'm saying? But you know, other than that, um, you know, I'm open. But yeah, I'm not into nudity.

How, now that you are mom, does that play a role into it? Into the roles I want to take? Yes. And I think before I was a mom, it was my parents, my family, my community, what I want to represent. Okay. And then it's become even more my son, my, my, my, you know, what I want him to see and know. And that's not stringent and rigid, right?

I think mothers and women are nuanced. It don't mean, well, I'm not doing all these rules now, but it's just like, how will I speak to him about it? Is this something that I can stand behind right things like that? Okay, so Nickelodeon true VIP the fourth highest paid child star on television How did that role come about? So that role came about in the whole little kids

Network of acting. My mom was on the phone, somebody call her, somebody call her, there's a role. Okay. Characters called True Jackson VP and kickin' you to our dish for this. And so the creator, Andy, Andy Gordon, he was like, you know, I didn't know that she did comedy, because this guy came from like Just Shoot Me, like he's done a lot of like sitcom, you know, I didn't know that she did comedy because this is kind of, you know, this guy came from like Just Shoot Me. Like he's done a lot of like sitcom, you know, comedy, adult comedy. And so he was coming to, you know, kid television, which a lot of people like

him were doing at that time and really making it amazing. And he was like, I didn't know you know, I only knew her from Akeelah and the B. That was a really dramatic work. I didn't know that she had a sense of humor. So we had a lunch with him. And then I think I got on tape for it. And the next thing you know, I got the role. And I was like, oh wow, it made me think about the Disney thing. And I was like, wow, so the world's gonna happen. It just wasn't time.

And it was a whirlwind. I felt like I was popular then. And a lot of times people think about Akeel and the Bee and they don't remember it in real time. Like in real time Akeel and the Bee bombed. It wasn't like a movie that did good in the theaters. And like nobody really went to see it. People didn't understand it.

They didn't understand the name. Like it was not really a success to be honest with you. It wasn't until DVDs and people buying the movie after the fact and people hearing about it and were getting around that it became popular. So Keel and the Bee became popular over years time. Where's True Jackson VP? Honey, once that hit the air, it was up and it was stuck.

I'm Stephen McFarland, therapist, life coach, change agent, who helps everyone from celebrities, athletes to ex gang members through their addictions and help them wake up. I feel like there's always been a calling for you, something higher. I don't know. I always feel that way as well. But I guess everybody feels they're here for a reason. Yeah, okay. Even if it's to suffer to help other people understand suffering, it's not as bad as we believe it is. I believe everybody learns from each other. Why are you here, you think? To people that you know, anything's possible. You don't give up anything's possible. Listen to the CINO show on I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. You did four point a premiere, 4.8 million views setting a record for Nickelodeon's largest audience for a live action premiere. How did you handle that kind of success?

Because like you said, you had been in other roles, but you had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success.

You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success.

You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You had never had this year's success. You did you handle that kind of success? Because like you said, you had been in other roles, but you had never had this, your lead, and to have this level of success. Yeah, I was traumatized, straight up. Because it was just like nothing felt real anymore. And I didn't know how to say no a lot of the times. Because everybody wanted something from me. And there's this validation that they're looking for me to approve of them.

Or they expecting this from me, whether it be fans or even friends, even family. I didn't want to let anybody down because now they're putting me up on this hill. And I don't even see myself there, but anything I do or say can hurt their feelings so now I don't know how to have boundaries for myself and then I'm a kid so I gotta stay in a child's place and it was just really a lot for me to manage. And then I'm

making all this money and so many people are trying to take me from my parents. And I know that sounds so crazy but it's true. You have all these people that are making money off of you and they telling you what's best for you and that your parents don't know. And I remember feeling really burdened by that

because I love my parents. And I just felt like, well damn, am I in trouble? What's gonna happen to my career? It was just so stressful for me as a kid. I was really under a lot of stress you mentioned that there there are people coming in trying to say well You know who I can take you so much further than what your parents take it Did you ever think that damn are my parents really holding me back? Could I be bigger than what I actually am now? I didn't know why I needed to be bigger. I guess

Okay, I'm just thinking to myself. What myself, what am I missing? I was happy. My family, we came to California for me to pursue my dreams. I got my own show. Right. So everything is Lord of the Corn and the Virgin. Honey, my parents, at their best, made $40,000 a year growing up.

A year. I was making that a show. Whoa, go ahead on that. So I was like, this is unbelievable. We're happy. We didn't come into this for money. We came into this for love and look at what we've been blessed with.

So when they were doing that, it just was confusing to me. And as a child, I just was afraid that it would all go away. Because then what? Now we're going back to Chicago. And if I don't keep working and if I don't listen to these people or if I don't like what what happens then? And so I was just very often scared. I had a lot of anxiety and I didn't have anybody to talk to because my parents didn't understand that. And then they're also afraid

because they see what's going on and now they don't know. Now they checking me and I'm like I don't need to be checked. I don't like them people. We on the same page, y'all. But it was like we couldn't communicate and it was a really terrible time for me. You making all that money, what you buy? You buy something really, you get something crazy. I remember the most thing I did, I used to love Net-A-Porter.

Net it like the little website online. I used to just buy a bunch of clothes, bags and stuff like that. I was just really into the fashion then, especially with the show True Jackson VP. Everything was just about fashion all the time. So I just remember always shopping. That was the main thing. Then I bought me a little Apple computer.

You know, nothing really big. Just little regular stuff that, you know, I think any kid would. How much access did your parents allow you to have to the money? Because we hear all these stories. Yeah. That child actors, they have these hit shows and they're making tons of money and by the time they're 17, 18, they got nothing.

Yeah, so my parents got me a business manager when I was 12. Oh wow. And they wanted me to know that they weren't the ones controlling my money. They had heard these stories and my mom said, I don't want money to come in between me and my child. And so, you know, Kugen, that Kugen account is set up because a young man, I forget his

full name, but I know his last name is Kugen, his parents stole his money. So they made the Kugen account within our industry to help kids have some money. It's like 10%, I think, or something like that. And so that always was there, regardless of anything else. And then on top of that, you that, my parents rationed me out an allowance, but they also rationed out my older sister allowance as well. And I think the thing about it is somebody can say,

okay, well that was your money, yeah, but we a family. And everybody sacrificed for me to be where I'm at. My dad gave up his pension, okay? He had worked at the company he worked at for over 15 years, gave up his pension for me to have an opportunity for my dreams. My mother, they gave up everything. She gave up everything so she could travel with me

and do what she needed to do with me. So how I feel about it is what's mine is theirs, what's theirs is mine. And I would do it again. I would give up and sacrifice 20 more years of my life working in this industry so that I could provide and we could have the business we have today.

Kiki, you know it's not normal that a child is the provider for the family. Normally it's vice versa. Parents, father, mother, sometimes the father work. I have a tissue. Yeah. Look at my back. Go ahead.

You can keep it. No. So normally that's not normal. Normally it's the father. Sometimes you have a dual parent. Then both work. But as a child, you are the provider of the family. Yes.

Did you realize what was on Kiki's shoulder? Yes, I did. And I wore like this Marc Jacobs runway. I wore like armor. It's okay. You did amazing. I would do it again for my family. That's why you did it to begin with? For community. And I think that is the thing, you know. Life is a lonely place. It is. And when you have your family, and if you're the one, then you're the one. That's

it. That's the way it was. And now, you know, my sister could go to FAMU and she had to worry about nothing. Okay? She got to live and do what she wanted to do my same thing for all of us We get to do things that we weren't able to do and I wasn't the only person that sacrificed but yes a lot of it was on me and it's just one of those things where I feel like I Could be sad but why Look what I gained. Yes.

I gained so much more than what I sacrifice. Kiki, a lot of times when I talk to people, I said people will write down their goals, what they want to accomplish in life, but very few people are willing to write down what they're willing to sacrifice to achieve those goals. You had a dream and you wrote down your goals, what you wanted to become, but you say, you know what, what I'm willing to give up. I'm willing to give up being a high school student

I'm willing to build I'm willing to give up being a college student. I'm willing to give up what a normal 17 18 20 22 year old to accomplish those goals Do you understand what that means? Your parents I don't know if they've told you how proud they are of you. I don't know if your sisters ever told you how proud they are of you, but they are. You know, my brother told me

when we went to my sister's graduation, he said, the time was now and you were the one to do it. I don't know if you know, I don't know if you realize, but you changed our lives. And I was just like, you know, he was, I was seven when he was born, I'm a lot older than him. I never know how he's seen this, you know what I mean? I know my brother used to tell his friends when he was six,

my sister's true Jackson VP. That's all, you know, I know that he thought of it, but he said, whatever prayers that were prayed about us, whatever was done, whatever our ancestors did, the moment is now, you've done it. You've changed it for the Palmer's forever. And it's just like, man, it's crazy. And I think that, look, you can look at it

as I'm Kiki Palmer, but I would be, I think a lot of people have had this. We may not know their names, but people that's watching this, they done gave up stuff for their family. My dad and my mom, they gave up stuff for their family. Correct. My dad, he was accepted to UCLA. He didn't go because my grandmother needed him.

My mom had an opportunity to go to school at Juilliard. She didn't go, because my father needed her. They decided to do certain things for the community, and it was all paid back, and then some. And I just, that's how I truly believe in things. I believe there is no reward without sacrifice, And sometimes that's hard for people to understand and accept, but there are many nights where I was lonely and I cried and I had nobody.

There was many moments where I felt like I couldn't make it. I don't know what I'm gonna do. But then I said, you know what? I'm here for a reason. And I gotta push through this. So I did. There are a lot of prayers that was said that you didn't even know he heard.

And that is facts. And I can see it in my life today. When I see certain moments and things come up or certain opportunities that I'm having, or, you know, I told my mom it's so different. There was a conversation where, you know, I would see fans when I was younger, they would say, thank you, we love this movie. We love this movie, it's good, it's great.

But now when people come up to me, you know what they say? Thank you for what you do for the community. We appreciate you. I'm like, wow. It's almost like, yeah, y'all, you see my heart. You see why I'm doing what I'm doing. I did not, I don't expect that.

But when I hear that, I'm like, damn, that's crazy. It really touches me. It reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing. I did not expect that. But when I hear that, I'm like, damn, that's crazy. It really touches me. It reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing. You're one of the great success stories of a child actor. If there's anything that you could young boys, young girls that want to follow in Kiki's footsteps, what's some of the advice you would give them? You can't change the world. You know there's a great quote that I love with Mother Teresa. She says, no great things can be done, only small things with great love. So focus on what you can do on the inside with yourself. My book, Master Me, is all about self mastery,

mastery of the self, how you move in this world, how you choose to show up and perform, how you choose to identify your purpose and how that informs the way you're going to perform and how that leads you to your power That's what it's about to me. So I would say to Lean into you trust yourself Nowhere it is that you feel safe have a habit have and create a community that allows you to flourish and encourages you to be

your best and then be easier yourself take it one day at a time because I didn't know the blueprint I was drawing, but I trusted and had faith that it was gonna work out and I followed my heart. I followed what made me feel good, what made me feel happy, my sense of purpose, what drew me to something from a good place. That's what allowed to lead me.

And so, yeah, trust yourself because know, at the end of the day, there's a viral clip that's circulating with Justin Bieber says he wish he could protect Billy Eilish, Billy Eilish from the industry. But, I mean, obviously, he came up in the industry, extremely successful. You came up in the industry. What is it? It's because the kids are kind of isolated. A lot of times, I mean, like you said,

your mom traveled with you everywhere. But I had Kale Mitchell here and I've had some others that sometimes the parents are not around. And sometimes kids are there vulnerable, they're easily taken advantage of. Yes. I think it's everything're vulnerable. They're easily taking advantage of yes I think it's everything you said kids are easily taking advantage of you can go all the way back to Judy Garland when they were pumping Her up with drugs, so I mean it happens and even if it's not the most extreme idea is still Traumatizing like I can't sell you that I mean I've experienced some crazy things, but I can't tell you they were done when I was a kid

On set But even still it it was hard. So I just think being a child and working in an adult world, this is an adult business. There's nothing childish or kiddy about showing up and working 20 hours a day. I just don't think there's anything that can really prepare a child for that because mentally they're not able to be able to understand that. And so there are some things in place, but like I said, I feel like there should be therapists.

And I seen an interview recently where Raven-Symon was saying that on her show they do have that. So I just think there needs to be more things implemented to protect a child from a childhood that essentially there be a stripped of. Because the thing about childhood is you're allowed to be a child, which means I'm allowed to cry and kick and scream I'm allowed to have a bad attitude. You know my son we did Halloween pictures yesterday. He kicked and screamed the whole time He can do that because he's a kid but when people are there because it's a business

You can't do that. You can't kick and scream. You're not allowed to be a kid You're not allowed to say I don't want to do this You're not allowed you have to be an adult as a 7 8 say, I don't want to do this. You're not allowed. You have to be an adult as a seven, eight, 12 year old. You do. And that's why a lot of times people say, so and so seems so mature. They seem so, well they've aged.

The industry will age you. Sometimes I feel 50 because the way that I had to be objective about things in order to survive the scenario, it's going to make you more mature. And so yeah, I get the statement because, everybody wants people to be able to enjoy their childhood, but as a child entertainer, you don't get a child, you get robbed of that, huh?

No, you can't, you have to. There's no way to be a kid there. You just, it's not fit for that. Nickelodeon scandal quiet on the set. Your mom says, some Nickelodeon says were very weird and cultish. Did you have any bad, did you experience any of that?

I did not. I'm very grateful to God I didn't experience anything like that, you know what I'm saying? I don't want to make it seem like always cause my parents was doing more than the other parents or something like that. Because I'm sure many of these parents was doing their best. But my parents, they were really so strict on me and a lot of times I feel like that's

why I didn't get some opportunities or I don't even want to say opportunities but why some people didn't want to work with me or the, and it's not even that there was necessarily going to be something sinister going on in a sexual manner, but it would also be financial. You know, my mom, she would read those contracts, she would say, well, this is the second year, she needs a raise. And they're like, okay, well, she would read those contracts, she would say, well, this is the second year, she needs a raise. And they're like, okay, well, she's coming, so instead of doing a third season, we'll overpack the second season

so we can get three seasons and we don't have to pay her more. And so those are the kinds of things that Sharon would do that I think, she was just so alert that it would scare some people off. And yes. But she wasn't gonna let anybody take advantage of her child. She was serious about that. She really was. I know, and yes. But you wouldn't go lie to anybody to take advantage of her child.

She was serious about that. She really was. I mean, she cursed a lot of people out. She definitely did. I ain't raising no dummy. Y'all need to make sure she get her school. I'll never forget that's what she did on the Keeley and the B set,

because it was kind of starting to overwork me. And she said, I'ma close the set down. She ain't got no school all day. Y'all been, I ain't raising no fool. It don't make no sense for her to be on this set with this movie where they talking about a little girl learning how to spell and y'all ain't gonna let her read. Wow.

And I was, I mean, as a kid, sometimes that stuff would embarrass me. Yes. It would embarrass me. But now it's like, woo, thank goodness. And she would tell me that, you know, later on, that she was scared, but she was just doing what she felt she needed to do to protect me.

Right. So, yeah, I feel like any of the crazy industry or hard things I went through, most of the time I brought them on myself as a young woman. Because as a kid, Larry and Sharon were like... They were on it. They was on it. What are some of the best advice that men, women

in the industry before you have partaken, shared with Kiki? A lot of people have shared a lot of things with me. I remember I was on a set of the Longshots with Ice Cube. I think I've told this story before, but he was very cool, very chill. He didn't say too much, meant a few words, but very nice. And one day they were like, Ice Cube wants to speak to you. I'm like, okay.

So they call me into a room, he's like way far distant from me and there's some bodyguards there. I'm like, what are we about to talk about? You know? He's like, I just want to tell you, Kiki, you're a beautiful young lady. And I see how kind you are, how nice you

are to everybody on the set. But I want you to know that you're growing into a young woman. And a lot of times, the way that people see you, the way that these men see you on set, it's not the way that you see yourself. So protect yourself, be careful, and don't let them take advantage of you.

Know who you are and know what you have so that people can't use it against you. And I was just like, I didn't understand it, because I was like 14 at the time. And I was like, okay, you know, and I just said, can I go? And I walked out, okay, you know, and I just said, can I go? And he's, and I walked out. That stuck with me.

And it was so important, I think, for him to say something like that to me. You know what I mean? He's a father. He's someone who has seen a lot in this industry, especially with young entertainers. And I always remember that, and I was always so grateful to him for that.

I haven't seen him since, but I would love to tell him that that really stuck with me all these years and thank you for reminding me. Are there any roles that you turned down that you later regretted? I don't say that I would regret this one, but it would have kind of been cool to be in half Nelson. I remember they had reached out to us about that. My mom was so, you know, they've always been so particular about how I represent the community. You know, they grew, I grew up with them always talking

about Ruby Dee, IZ Davis, you know, Muhammad Ali, and just entertainers and how they use their platforms. And so they were like feeling bad about the fact that I would go from doing Akilah and the Bee to being a drug dealer. And so that's why they weren't interested in that. But, you know, obviously Ryan Gosling is a great actor and so is Shereeca Epps.

So it was a great movie. Of all the movies that you've done, which movie is Kee Kee Parma most identified with? That people identify me the most with? Absolutely Keel and the Bee. Really? People still to this day, that is the movie when they think about me.

I mean, I've gone on the airplanes and people people say are you the little girl in the key? And I'm like, yeah, that's crazy that you know that so that's the one that I think people still think about the most and then True Jackson VP. Yeah, and then now no Have you ever gotten stage fright? Have you ever gotten up there and forgot every word that you were supposed to say after knowing it back wasn't forward. That happened to me once. I was doing Broadway. And you know, what happens is you kind of go like, blanking your mind when you're doing so many shows like that.

Because you get used to the fact that I know what I'm doing. And they rehearse you and rehearse you and rehearse you so much that you're like, I got this. And you can actually leave your body a little bit. One night I left my body doing a lovely night, a lovely night. And I was like, oh, what kind of night is it? I was like, and honey, it was the strangest thing

because you know, I'm doing my dance and everything. And so I was like, I just stayed dancing and smiling like literally, I felt crazy and then I looked down and I see the conductor and he's like, and he's mouthing it back to me and I suddenly got back on track. Honey, I felt like I went and you know what they call it, they call it you going to the little white room.

I went to the little white room and I didn't know how I was going to recover. That was the scariest thing I ever experienced in my life. But do you think the audience knew that you had lost your train of thought? I would love to have asked somebody. They might have thought, weird choreography. You know, because I'm literally like, it was strange.

I went from being like, and it was just like, is she good? They had to have thought that. But once I got back in, I got back in and that was it. It was spooky. This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted, and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listened to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shae Shae Profile,

and I'll see you there. Mike Tyson's journey to recovery reminds us that no fight is easy. With every bumpy start, each setback and moments that could have broken him, he kept pushing forward. I never knew what the spiral was coming up in my life. I never knew I was gonna go in there

and did this hopelessness and how so many millions of people feel like that but have no help. Listen to the CINO Show on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search the CINO show and start listening.