Keke Palmer Started Crying After Being Reminded That It’s “Not Normal” To Have Been Her Family’s Breadwinner At Age 12

Keke Palmer has opened up further about the reality of becoming her family’s breadwinner at just 12 years old.

The actor, now 31, shot to fame at just 10 years old after starring in Barbershop 2: Back in Business. She later landed roles in several huge movies and TV series, including Akeelah and the Bee, Madea’s Family Reunion, and True Jackson, VP.

Last year, Keke got candid about feeling like a “parentalized child” when she became financially responsible for her family at 12.

She wrote on Instagram, “Due to traveling and scheduling both of my parents had to stop working to support my career and be present for my three siblings, leaving me with the financial responsibility around age 12. Which I took great pride in because I knew what it would do for generations to come and a huge blessing that I could even help out.”

“However it caused me a lot of pain because I essentially had to abandon my childhood feelings and desires, becoming like a parentalized child, which is something some of you can probably relate to in your own way,” she shared.

Speaking with host Shannon Sharpe, Keke casually revealed exactly how much she was earning as a child star.

“My parents, at their best, made $40,000 a year growing up. I was making that a show,” she shared before going on to discuss how her parents handled her money.

“My parents got me a business manager when I was 12,” she said. “They wanted me to know that they weren’t the ones controlling my money.”

“On top of that, my parents rationed me out an allowance. They also rationed out my older sister an allowance as well,” she shared.

Keke also revealed that she actually became a millionaire at 12.

Keke went on to explain why she doesn’t take issue with the fact that her parents gave her an allowance from her own earnings.

“Somebody could say, ‘Well, that was your money.’ Yeah, well we a family! And everybody sacrificed for me to be where I’m at,” she said.

“My dad gave up his pension… for me to have an opportunity for my dreams. My mother, she gave up everything so she could travel with me and do what she needed to do with me. So how I feel about it is, what’s mine is theirs, what’s theirs is mine,” she said.

“And I would do it again. I would give up and sacrifice 20 more years of my life working in this industry so that I could provide, and we could have the business we do today,” she added.

Shannon then gently reminded Keke that it’s “not normal” for the child to be the provider for their family.

“Keke, you know it’s not normal that a child is the provider for the family. Normally it’s vice versa, parents, father, mother…” he said before Keke interjected and asked someone off camera, “Can I have a tissue?” She then told Shannon to continue while seemingly fighting back tears.

“So, that’s not normal. Normally it’s the father; sometimes you have dual parents [who] both work, but as a child, you [were] the provider of the family,” Shannon said.

When asked if she understood the weight of her responsibility as the breadwinner, Keke — who started crying — said, “Yes I did.” She then paused for a long moment before saying through tears, “I would do it again for my family.”

“For community… Life is a lonely place. And when you have your family, and if you’re the one, then you’re the one! That’s it. That’s the way it was,” she continued, adding that her family have been able to do things that they weren’t previously able to do due to her sacrifice.

“I wasn’t the only person that sacrificed, but yes, a lot of it was on me,” she said. “It’s just one of those things where I feel like I could be sad, but why? Look what I gained! I gained so much more than what I sacrificed.”