Keke Palmer takes jab at boyfriend’s ‘you’re a mother’ criticism in Usher music video

‘Nope’ actor features in singer’s new music video following outfit-shaming controversy

Keke Palmer uses boyfriend Darius Jackson’s outfit-shaming words against him during her feature in Usher’s new music video.

Last month, fitness instructor Jackson, with whom Palmer shares son Leodis “Leo” Andrellton, publicly shamed her for wearing a sheer outfit to Usher’s Las Vegas residency. The Nope actor, 29, has now teamed up with the singer-songwriter for his latest song, “Boyfriend”.

The video opens with Palmer and two friends drinking champagne as they get ready for a night out. As they make their way down to the casino, the three run into Usher.

“Somebody said that your boyfriend's lookin’ for me / Oh, that's cool, that’s cool / Well, he should know I'm pretty easy to find / Just look for me wherever he sees you,” he sings, while they all take part in a choreographed dance.

By the end of the video, Palmer is seen sprawled out in bed sleeping after the night’s events. She’s eventually woken up by her ringing cellphone, to which she groggily answers: “Yes, yes! Hello, hello? What time is it? Damn it, I missed the show.

“S***, I’m so tired – I’m a mother, after all,” she says, winking at the camera.

Since the music video’s YouTube release on Wednesday (16 August), Usher and Palmer have been applauded by fans. “Well played,” several have written in the platform’s comment section.

Palmer’s last line is a direct reference to a tweet Jackson shared last month in response to a viral video of Usher serenading Palmer during his July concert.

“It’s the outfit tho [sic]... you a mom,” Jackson wrote.

Jackson’s comment quickly prompted a social media pile-on, with several users branding him “insecure”.

However, Jackson later doubled down on his opinion, writing: “We live in a generation where the man of the family doesn’t want the wife and mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others and he gets told how much of a hater he is.

“This is my family and my representation. I have standards and morals to what I believe. I rest my case.”

Palmer later commented indirectly on the controversy, telling The Cut about her newfound confidence since giving birth.

“After having my baby, I’ve just gotten so much more powerful,” she began.

She noted that, after becoming a mother, her body has “got so much bigger and [she] started getting fluff in areas [she] never had before”.

“It’s like, that’s not something to hide, that’s something to embrace,” Palmer continued. “We’re going to lean into this new body. That is the whole aura of what’s happening with me in this big boss era as I come into my 30s and I have my baby boy. I’m just continuing to spread my wings as a young woman.”