Inside Keke Palmer and Jennifer Lopez's 'Dope' Friendship After "Hustlers": 'We Just Had That Kind of Vibe'
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11/22/2024 05:19 PM
The stars developed a bond while working on the 2019 movie 'Hustlers' together
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Keke Palmer and Jennifer Lopez at the 'Hustlers' premiere in 2019.Keke Palmer and Jennifer Lopez hit it off from the start.
During a recent visit to SiriusXM's Smith Sisters Live podcast, the 31-year-old actress, singer and author of the new book Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative, opened up about her bond with Lopez, 55.
"I've always loved J. Lo, right since Selena. I don't know what it is. Like, I'm not Mexican American, but y'all know Black American folks, we live for Selena down," Palmer told hosts Lauren, Rachel and Mariah Smith of Lopez's 1997 movie about Selena Quintanilla.
In 2019, Palmer and Lopez starred together in the acclaimed movie Hustlers, based on the true story of New York strippers who swindled customers out of cash.
"When I met her and I worked with her, I just remember us having a lot of moments where she really was opening herself up outside of being 'J. Lo the star,' which is something I didn't expect," said Palmer.
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Lili Reinhart, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer and Constance Wu in 'Hustlers.'"We developed a friendship. And so it was one of these things where she kind of was always like, 'My door is open to you,' you know what I mean? Like, I don't know why, you know, we just had that kind of vibe where she was like, 'I'm here for whatever you need. Come on to the house. Like, here's my team. What can we do? How can we produce more with you?' " continued Palmer.
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Jennifer Lopez and Keke Palmer in 2019.The Password host says when Lopez approached her about appearing in her film This Is Me…Now: A Love Story, which debuted earlier this year, she was all in.
"When the movie happened, I was immediately like, 'Yeah, girl, whatever you need,' " said Palmer. In the high-concept film, Palmer plays Scorpio, a member of the Zodiac Council, an astrological group that discusses Lopez's love life in the movie.
After filming wrapped, Lopez offered to show it to Palmer in a "special way," Palmer said. "When she showed it to me, she was like, 'I wanna show it to you in a special way, because I really want you to see like, you know what you are doing in this movie.' "
"She rents out this theater. She makes sure that me and my son, everything, are, like, so comfortable. It was really fabulous, honey," continued the mom of 21-month-old baby Leo.
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Keke Palmer on May 6, 2024"Then I see the movie, I watched the movie in this private theater by myself, and I call her afterwards. I'm like, I love her. I'm in love. She's like, 'I just want you to see just how much of a star you are, you know, to me and to the world.' And she was like, 'I love you Keke, and I hope you enjoyed it.' I'm just like, 'I love Jennifer.' You know, she's dope. Not just in the way of who she is as a talent, but as like a boss," added Palmer.
Earlier this year, the former child actress told PEOPLE that Lopez is one of her biggest cheerleaders: "[She's] actually a personal person in my life that has always encouraged me and really always given me an opportunity to shine," Palmer said.
