Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson’s relationship has been in the news since July 2023. It resurfaced in November of last year with more information, and now, in February 2024, there are still more rumblings coming from these two. My assessment is and always has been that this was an incredibly toxic relationship. But regardless of its toxicity, there are some actions that will never be acceptable in any relationship.
The private life of Palmer and Jackson started to become public in July 2023 when Palmer went to a concert in Las Vegas and was pulled on stage to dance with Usher. Her then-boyfriend, Jackson, took to X to declare his disapproval of her provocative behavior and revealing outfit. By this point, the two already shared a child, and she had given birth just a few months prior.
Screenshot. X/Twitter.
Then, in November, a month after separating, Palmer released shocking surveillance camera footage of who appears to be her ex, Jackson, beating her in her own home. At the time of the footage release, she was seeking a restraining order and full custody of their then eight-month-old son. Jackson reportedly trespassed into Palmer’s home without her knowledge nor her consent. This is still working its way through the court process, but the behavior she reported of him is beyond despicable.
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She shared stills of the footage from her filings in court at the time. In them, Jackson first looks to be forcing her in a certain direction against her will, then has his hand in the air as she loses her balance and falls over the couch, putting her hands up in a defenseless position.
Screenshot.
Screenshot.
Screenshot.
In the court filings, she states, “The abuse during our relationship was not just physical, but emotional and manipulative. Darius would ‘love bomb’ me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him.” Palmer has repeated that Jackson was very jealous throughout their entire relationship. While this was obviously an incredibly toxic relationship, this abuse was certainly not Keke Palmer’s fault.
Then, at the beginning of this month, Jackson took to X again, this time, with a message to all the dads who have given up custody:
Screenshot. X/Twitter.
In another post, he continued, giving advice to make sure God is the center of your relationship:
Screenshot. X/Twitter.
If you separated these words from the situation he has currently found himself in — having beaten Keke Palmer — I would affirm that this is amazing advice. But you do not get to suddenly become a pastor after we have all seen evidence of horrific footage of you. Even in households of atheists, men know not to put their hands on women. To claim you were beating your significant other because you were not following the Good Book and the Lord? There is no excuse — ever. Let’s not hide behind God. Let’s not turn into a pastor who suddenly has sage words for other men.
I am a firm believer that it is important to weigh in when something goes against your values — so it is important to state this is wrong. This is a situation that should be discussed, not because anyone is prying into the private lives of people (this is information that has been made public), but because it’s important to take a moral position with actual values. This situation includes two people who clearly did not respect each other, nor did they understand who the other was. Toxicity seeped into their relationship, and they never should have been matched in the first place. But no woman should ever go through this, and no woman should suffer abuse. It is never the fault of any person when they are abused.
There is never a circumstance when it is acceptable for a man to put his hands on a woman. Never. Only a coward would ever do that.