Keke Palmer Keke defends relationship with ABC after Strahan, Sara and Keke was canceled

It was announced earlier this month that ABC’s GMA morning show — Strahan, Sara and Keke — had been canceled, despite getting some good ratings.

The news came just weeks after host Michael Strahan told an ABC/Disney anti-racism symposium he felt he couldn’t ‘speak up or raise his voice’ with studio executives for fear of being seen as threatening as a black man. 

Now co-host Keke Palmer has taken to social media to address speculation that she may have played a role in the show getting the axe because she spoke up against racism during the recent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Palmer posted a meme with the message ‘Aint it weird how Keke Palmer was seen protesting and preaching about Racism in our country then ABC decides to cancel her show’ on her Instagram page on Saturday. 

‘I want to speak on this simply because I hate the narrative that if you speak your mind as a black person that you will in some way be punished,’ Palmer, 26, began in the caption.

‘I have seen this going around and at first I ignored but in this climate I realized this is a dangerous message to send to our generation and the generation coming up.’ 

The Illinois native went on to talk about how she thought her words at the BLM protest showed the corporations that she has worked with how important ‘her voice is and anyone that has a POV.’  

‘The reality is I was never signed to SSK as one would a seasonal show. This business is dynamic and instead of thinking of me as a ‘series regular’ see me see me as a brand that works with the corporation Disney/ABC News and this particular show I was on is no longer.’

It’s at this point that Palmer compared the comments of the meme to fear mongering and that she’s speaking out ‘so that no one ever feels or thinks that speaking out will cost them their job!’

‘I’m sure it can and has before, but let’s also recognize when it has not. That way more of us with our own minds speak out against any injustices we see,’ she added. 

‘Trust me, walking in my truth has always made my blessings OVERFLOW and connect to those that are like minded and not with those that are not. Do not believe this lie. Stay courageous and stay true because GOD HAS YOU ALWAYS.’

Strahan, Sara and Keke, which aired on ABC less than two years, was nominated for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show, and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Hosts at the Daytime Emmys in 2020.  

But in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the talk show was replaced in mid-March by the daily Coronavirus report — Pandemic: What You Need to Know.

A source told Page Six, ‘[Pandemic] was initially supposed to be a two-week experiment’ but the show ended up having good ratings. 

ABC is now expected to make the lineup change permanent, while Strahan will still host Good Morning America.

Strahan shared his concerns about inequality at the network during an anti-racism symposium on June 4 in front of all ABC and Disney employees and Bob Iger, executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company.  

Insiders maintain Strahan was referring to his time co-hosting Live With Kelly And Michael from 2012 to 2016, which ended with him abruptly leaving the show to move to GMA full-time.