Keke Palmer Was Convinced Nicki Minaj Was Going Cuss Her Out ...

Keke Palmer during an interview with host Jimmy Fallon on Nov. 19, 2024 on 'Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.' Todd Owyoung/NBC

Keke Palmer had a moment on the red carpet at this year’s Met Gala. And while she looked fabulous and enjoyed the evening, it wasn’t without its stressors. Chief among them was being called out by none other than Nicki Minaj on the red carpet. The Nope star stopped by The Tonight Show on Tuesday night (Nov. 19) to describe the scary moment to host Jimmy Fallon, complete with a pretty dead-on Nicki impersonation.

Palmer described Minaj spotting her on the red carpet and, mid-conversation with another group of luminaries, stopping what she was doing and turning to Keke. “Uh-uh, you, I need to talk to you, hold on,” Palmer said pointing her finger and imitating Minaj’s signature New-York-via-Trinidad accent. Opening her eyes wide, Palmer recalled thinking, “I done did something! Nicki about to cuss me out at the Met Gala.” She noted that the two knew each other casually after Minaj hooked Palmer up with famed photographer/music video director David LaChapelle for a baby shower photo shoot.

Unsure what was actually coming her way, Palmer said she sat back and waited for what she expected to be a lambasting from the MC known for lacerating her enemies. “Look, I don’t read the press. I don’t know everything that’s goin’ on,” Palmer said in her Nicki voice. “But I just wanna tell you, nobody knows what it’s like when we turn off the lights and we gotta be with ourselves. So you do whatever you need to do to be good witchu.”

Blown away by the sage advice, Palmer said she was like, “YEAH! I was like, ‘thank you for this speech! I was not expecting this.”

The Password buddies also talked about Emmy winner Palmer’s new empowering memoir, Master of Me, her tribute to Usher at this year’s BET Awards and her upcoming big screen comedy with SZA, One of Them Days. The multi-hyphenate also gushed about her adorable toddler son Leo, for whom she’s written a Broadway-style theme song. “Leo/ That’s my name/ Leo, that’s my name/ Leo, I’m the guy you know,” Palmer crooned before showing off a home video of Leo singing along to his own show tune.

Check out the Nicki/Keke moment and the full Tonight Show interview below.

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