Comparison Between Keke Palmer & Zendaya’s Careers Sparks Conversation About Colorism

Zendaya is a household name after facing tremendous success with the MCU. Having starred in all three MCU Spider-Man movies, HBO’s Euphoria and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Zendaya got placed on the map in a huge way. Apparently, fans are comparing her to Keke Palmer.

Palmer has been working for many years, but fans argue that 2022 is the year when she caught a big break. The star had three big projects this year, having featured in Lightyear, Alice, and the biggest being Jordan Peele’s Nope.

Keke Palmer and Zendaya were part of a discussion on Twitter. One fan said Keke Palmer deserves the same hype fans give Zendaya, and a discussion started there. It wasn’t long before one fan tried drawing out similarities between their careers. They said that their careers went different ways due to colorism.

I’d like someone to do a deep-drive on the similarities and differences between Keke Palmer and Zendaya’s careers. This may be one of the clearest examples of how colorism plays out in Hollywood. They were both child-stars, but their mainstream popularity is very different.

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Zendaya and Keke Palmer do have striking similarities in their careers. While both were Disney actors in the beginning and were around the same age, Zendaya is the one with more success. Some people pointed out that Zendaya’s race-mixed heritage is behind her facing more success.

the comments and quotes are exactly why the colorism in hollywood conversation will always be surface level. people take acknowledging colorism worse and as more of a divisive tool than colorism itself. we’ll never be able to have true dialogue on it and thats why it’ll continue.

The Euphoria star’s fans took it personally, but this is part of a larger debate. It’s important to notice that Zendaya has addressed this issue before, and expressed that she wants the black community to get more success in showbiz. Keke Palmer has just had a blast with Nope, and we hope her upward trajectory keeps going on for a long time.

What’s your take on this story? Sound off in the comments!