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Keke Palmer speaks at Up Close & Personal: In My Studio With… Keke Palmer and Tayla Parx
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Key Takeaways:
- Rakai confused Keke Palmer for Mary J. Blige during Kai Cenat’s “Mafiathon 3” livestream.
- Palmer responded by singing “Real Love,” keeping the mood light and playful.
- The moment sparked online chatter about generational gaps in R&B knowledge.
You can’t say Keke Palmer doesn’t have a sense of humor. The renowned actor and singer appeared as a guest on Kai Cenat’s livestream on Sunday (Sept. 7) where Rakai mistook her for R&B superstar Mary J. Blige.
On Monday (Sept. 8), The Neighborhood Talk shared a clip from Cenat’s ongoing, month-long “Mafiathon 3” livestream event on Instagram. “The fact that she really started singing is crazy,” they captioned the post alongside two crying emojis. While seated next to the Cenat, Palmer says “We gotta make something happen” when streamer Rakai steps in to say, “Wait, you did a song…” and starts singing Blige’s 1992 hit “Real Love.”
Despite the obvious recognition fail, Palmer rolled with it, actually singing part of the song for additional laughs. While most everyone else recognized what was happening, Rakai says, “You did that, right?”
She then responded jokingly, “You know it’s me, Mary J. It’s me Mary J. Blige!” drawing more laughs from Cenat and company. While the other guests in the room had seemed to quickly realize the error, the teen then tried pinned his fail on his mother: “My mom just texted me and said that.”
While Palmer was classy enough to show grace, the comments were not so forgiving. “This younger generation is so disappointing… I mean, I used to know all of my parents’ music and [artists]. They don’t know [anything],” one user wrote.
The Emmy Award winner also received heaps of praise for getting in on the laughs, with another commenter adding, “I love how Keke handled this, [because] they definitely tried playing in her face.”
Coincidentally, earlier this year, Palmer shared a story of how the tears she shed while starring in Ludacris’ music video for “Runaway Love,” which features Mary J. Blige, was her genuine reaction to the song.
