Keke catches heat

It should come as no surprise that on the heels of yet another installment of whirlwind success and good news for Cardi B that her toxic not-yet-ex-husband Offset is trying his hardest to steal a bit of her limelight. What is coming as a surprise to me and so many others is the person who gave him the opportunity to do so: the popular and much-loved Keke Palmer. 

I get it, the toxic fallout between Cardi B and Offset and them ultimately splitting up, which feels like it’s been years in the making, has been a hot topic. And with Cardi B recently announcing her pregnancy, dropping a new album, revealing she’ll be going on tour – she has a lot going on and as a result, is getting a lot of attention. It makes sense that podcast hosts are champing at the bit to get in on any part of this action because chances are it means guaranteed listens, guaranteed downloads, and all of that translates to currency.

Over the last few weeks, Cardi herself has been making the podcast rounds and has had candid conversations about her divorce with the likes of Alex Cooper and Jay Shetty, not exactly people you’d assume would even be in the same room as her, and Jay even listed that as his reason for long ago declaring that she was his “dream guest”. But having listened to both of these episodes, I found them to be insightful, funny and even a bit inspirational thanks to Cardi’s vulnerability and honest reflections on everything from growing up poor to reflections she’s had since filing for divorce from Offset.

And that’s exactly what he tried to do during his appearance on Baby, This is Keke Palmer. But according to social media, his revelations about what he regrets are too little, too late – and are falling flat. Big time. And he’s not even the one catching the most heat. Keke is.

Scanning through the comment sections of videos highlighting snippets of their conversation, it’s clear that besides the very few comments lauding Keke for the quality of the interview, it seems like a majority of people agree that her having him on was odd. This user even said they’d rather see her interview Jonathan Majors than Offset. Yikes.

I’m looking at this situation through three lenses. First, as a person with a background in journalism and understanding that sometimes, even the enemy gets a sit-down. Secondly, Keke and Cardi and countless other women have dealt with their fair share of toxicity with the person they co-parent with, as I have. And lastly, I understand the importance of securing the bag – which Keke is known for.

I think the reason people are having a hard time understanding the rationale behind Keke’s decision-making is because it’s unclear which of the many hats she wears she has on right now. 

Keke is a good interviewer. And though the subject of this particular interview was unfavourable for a lot of people, she did execute a good interview. Perhaps she’s trying to showcase that this is a thoroughly honed skill for her. This also could have been a way for her to dig deep into the mind of Offset, hoping it would help her rationalize and make sense of the situation she endured with her son’s dad. Did she think giving him a space to express his regrets might lead to some sort of resolution for the two of them? Or perhaps it’s not that deep at all, she’s not trying to be a noble crusader and she really just wanted to cash in on some coin.

Whatever the case, I think people are interpreting Keke having Offset on her platform as an indication that she may be taking his side or pledging some sort of allegiance to him, but depiction is not endorsement, nor is hosting someone on your podcast. And a lot of people are using this as an opportunity to levy long-standing allegations that she’s male-centred, but I think that adds to the irony of Offset getting off almost completely scratch-free in all of this while Keke catches the heat. Because Keke having him on her platform shouldn’t result in a collective scolding by the internet so powerful it overshadows what Offset put Cardi B through, or run the risk of pitting two women against each other. That’s how this vicious cycle continues.