“Love Me As I Am”: Keke Palmer Opens Up About Sexuality And Identity At LGBT Center Gala

“Love Me As I Am”: Keke Palmer Opens Up About Sexuality And Identity At LGBT Center Gala

Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Acclaimed actress and entertainer Keke Palmer spoke about her sexuality and gender identity while being honored at the Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala on Saturday.

The event was held at the Fairmont Century Plaza and saw attendance from some of the industry’s biggest stars. According to Variety, Palmer was presented with a Vanguard Award from Karamo Brown during the center’s annual gala, and delivered a speech  focused around her sexuality and gender, and just how difficult her journey has been.

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“I’ve always been my own person,” Palmer said. “Sexuality and identity for me has always been confusion. You know, it’s, ‘I never felt straight enough. I never felt gay enough. And I never felt woman enough. I never felt man enough.’ You know, I always felt like I was a little bit of everything.”

“Love Me As I Am”: Keke Palmer Opens Up About Sexuality And Identity At LGBT Center Gala
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 22: (L-R) Karamo Brown and Keke Palmer pose onstage as the Los Angeles LGBT Center hosts The Center Gala at Fairmont Century Plaza on April 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Los Angeles LGBT Center)

“So often, I lead with masculinity. And as a woman, I’ve always been met with so much disdain, you know what I mean?” she continued. “I think so much of that came from who I thought I had to be to get respect, admiration and love. And I’ve always really wanted to be like my father; to want to be taken seriously and not diminish because I was a woman. You know, that’s always been a source of, I guess you would say, pain and resentment.”

Palmer’s honor this past Saturday marks the Nope star’s first public appearance since the birth of her child with partner Darius Jackson. At one point during her acceptance speech, she became visibly emotional after questioning why her gender…

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