Keke Palmer Seemingly Shades Her 'Scream Queens' Co-Stars

Keke Palmer always steals the scene in her movies and shows. But if she could have it her way, she’d reimagine some of the casting.

In a video interview with Who What Wear published on Wednesday, July 16, Palmer, 31, looked back on Scream Queens — a Ryan Murphy-produced horror comedy series that first aired on Fox back in 2015. Palmer starred alongside Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Abigail Breslin, Lea Michele, and Ariana Grande. When asked who would be in her squad, Palmer only kept two of the Scream Queens OGs, and swapped out the others.

“I would say my girl SZA, period,” said Palmer, who previously co-starred with SZA in One of Them Days.

She continued, saying “Billie Lourd, Ariana Grande, Victoria Monét. That’s it.”

While she didn’t explain why she excluded the other three, it’s likely that she didn’t have the best experience with them. In her memoir Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative — which was published in November 2024 — Palmer recalled a time when her co-star, whom she referred to as “Brenda” in the book, allegedly made a racist remark to her on set.

According to Palmer, “Brenda” was upset about an issue with a colleague, and to alleviate the situation, Palmer suggested that everyone “have fun and respect each other.”

“Brenda” allegedly responded “Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin f***ing Luther King?”

Though she has not identified “Brenda,” many fans have theorized that the actress in question was either Michele or Roberts.

So while Scream Queens wasn’t the most pleasant experience for Palmer, she thankfully has great memories with many of her previous collaborators. She and SZA are set to reunite for a sequel to One of them Days, according to a June 2025 report from Variety.