Keke Palmer Admits She And Usher ‘Caused Some Ruckus’

Usher and Keke Palmer have finally spoken about their viral moment that caused a serious debate on social media in 2023.

Recall that Usher and Palmer caused a stir after sharing a dance at his concert in Las Vegas.

Besides their dance, Plamer’s outfit raised eyebrows, prompting her then-boyfriend Darius Jackson to issue a response that went viral, leading to a debate on social media.

Usher appeared on the Tuesday, February 11 episode of Palmer’s “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast almost two years after their viral dancing moment.

During the episode, the pair discussed their dance and what followed afterward. The podcast host revealed that Usher impressed her during the show as she hadn’t “seen anybody perform like this in such a long time.”

Palmer confessed, “Now everybody went crazy. We caused some ruckus in my relationship.”

However, Usher, not willing to take the blame for the issues that befell Palmer’s relationship with Darius Jackson, said, jokingly, “Well, hold on… did I have anything to do with what was going on in your home? Did I buy you that dress?”

The R&B singer then became serious and clarified, “I can’t be responsible for how people choose to react to my experience as an entertainer. I am not deliberately trying to do anything that’s going to rock anybody’s home.”

He added that he always says to himself in a mirror before going out for a performance, “I am not here to break up your home. I’m here to entertain you, my love.”

The “Confessions” crooner wondered if he played a role in Palmer’s relationship troubles at the time.

He stressed, “I don’t want to take any responsibility for break everybody’s home up, but that wasn’t the purpose and point.”

The singer explained that he only wanted Palmer to “have a good time” with her girls before admitting that she looked great in her outfit on the night.

He said, “You looked fabulous, by the way. And if you didn’t wear what you wore, I wouldn’t have seen you. You was fabulous, amazing. I was like, ‘Oooh, Keke, come here, girl.'”

Palmer responded by admitting that she had a good time before adding, “People have problems. Relationships have up and downs. If Usher ends up being there, it’s just a coincidence.”

As Usher and Palmer’s viral moment dominated headlines, they caused more stir a month later by combining for the singer’s “Boyfriend” video.

Palmer quizzed Usher about his thought process when he asked her to star in his music video.

He responded, “I know it was a hot moment for you, and I was like, ‘You know what? When life feeds you lemons, you make lemonade. I think that this could be something positive and actually just shine a little bit of fun on it and allowing us to really do something that I think could be fun is the purpose and point of it.”

Usher added, “Let’s do something that just takes the mind off of it and just have a good time. Don’t focus on the drama.”

Usher and Palmer shut down the internet in July 2023 when she appeared at his concert in a sheer dress and danced with him.

The pair’s interaction stirred several comments online, but things got even more heated when her then-boyfriend Jackson called her out on X, writing, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.”

In another post, Jackson wrote, “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 & he 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 tweet caused a debate online, with some netizens taking Palmer’s side and slamming him for outfit-shaming her, while others criticized her for acting the way she did with Usher.

A few months after the viral moment, Palmer split from Jackson in October 2023, alleging that he was physically and emotionally abusive. She also described their relationship as “unhealthy” and “toxic.”

Palmer, who shares a two-year-old son, Leo, with Jackson, documented her experience with him in her memoir, “Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative.”

She also spoke to PEOPLE Magazine about the viral moment with Usher, saying she was “speechless” after learning about his post and fans’ reactions.

Palmer said, “I was just at a concert, doing what I do as an entertainer, creating a fun moment. How it became a storyline that me and Usher are in love, I don’t know.”

She added, “I live a very basic life, but fame would make you think that I go to the Usher concert and pull him off the stage and have him wrapped around my finger. You might think that, but it’s like, ‘Girl, I’m just like every other mama going out for a night.”

Despite ending things with Jackson, Palmer shared that they are now in a good place after reaching an amicable joint custody agreement.