Keke Palmer's Boyfriend Publicly Shames Her For Wearing A Sheer Dress Because She's A Mom
Palmer's fans are rightfully standing by her and her choice to wear whatever she wants.
Parisa Michelle via Shutterstock / @keke via Instagram Keke Palmer and her boyfriend Darius Jackson welcomed their first baby in February 2023. The 29-year-old award-winning actress received major backlash during her pregnancy, and now it seems that her own partner has joined in the misogynist conversation surrounding what she can and can’t do as a mom.
Darius Jackson criticized Keke Palmer's Usher concert outfit.
Palmer attended Usher’s performance in Las Vegas on July 5, 2023. She wore a sheer black dress with a black bodysuit underneath. On his since-deleted Twitter account, Jackson commented on a video of Usher serenading Palmer, writing, “It’s the outfit tho… you a mom.”
Photo: Philip Lewis / Twitter
Jackson then doubled down on publicly shaming his girlfriend, tweeting, “We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & gets told how much of a hater he is. This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case.”
Jackson’s commentary on Palmer’s outfit highlights an alarmingly common narrative that denies women agency and bodily autonomy.
The problematic nature of Jackson’s statement is multifaceted. Palmer is a grown woman, the owner of her body, and she can wear whatever she wants. To say otherwise is to exhibit a wish to control how women present themselves in the world.
Another major issue at play is the way Jackson’s comment showcases the false narrative of women’s morality being connected to what we wear. Jackson’s public shaming of Palmer’s outfit also exemplifies the supremely misogynist belief that women who are moms must dress and act a certain way, in order to uphold some imagined moral standard.
The idea of motherhood as an all-encompassing identity causes harm to all women, not just moms. It holds women to an impossible standard, while also maintaining that once a woman becomes a parent, that’s all she is. To demand that a woman dress a certain way once she becomes a mom is misguided and overtly controlling.
Jackson’s claim that the way Palmer dressed pertains to his “representation” is a dangerous belief, for it holds her accountable for something beyond her control — her partners’ existence. It also implies that women are responsible for men’s actions and their reputations, another entirely dangerous way of thinking.
People have called Jackson out as hypocritical for framing his issues with Palmer's outfit as one based on morality, as he himself took and posted a semi-nude photo of Palmer online.
Palmer's Usher concert outfit was proudly posted on Instagram.
While Palmer has yet to make an official statement about Jackson’s comments, she did post photos of her outfit on Instagram, writing, “I wish I had taken more pictures but we were running late!”
Palmer’s followers have shown their outright support for her and her fashion choices. As one person said to Palmer directly, “You ate the look up and down. It’s giving mother, icon, free woman and we love you, AND support you.”
That comment gets to the issue at hand. Palmer is free to wear whatever she wants, as a mom and just as a person in the world. A sheer outfit doesn’t at all translate into her being a “bad” mom— to claim otherwise is to twist morality politics in order to hold women down.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.