Keke Palmer Says She ‘Expected’ ABC to Cancel ‘Strahan, Sara and Keke’

Keke Palmer joined "Strahan Sara and Keke" in August 2019. (Credit: ABC)

Fans may be surprised ABC shelved Strahan, Sara & Keke, but Keke Palmer says she “expected” the show to go away.

Palmer co-hosted the third hour of Good Morning America with Michael Strahan and Sara Haines. In March, the show was taken off the air and replaced with a daily coronavirus report called GMA3: What You Need To Know.

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Palmer appeared on Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live. The actress and singer told host Andy Cohen she realized her talk show would probably get sidelined when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Here’s the thing, when the pandemic hit, that’s all that was on our minds — the pandemic, corona, understanding COVID,” Palmer said. “So I kind of knew that, if our show did come back, it would have to be much, much, much later because our show is really about an audience.”

“When you think about it, that’s what we do. We do a little bit of news, but it’s entertainment news,” she added. “It’s really fun conversations and lightheartedness,” she added. “So it’s a different time now, and some of the conversation has changed, and I think it [pushed] us out.”

[Watch the video below]

Palmer previously squashed rumors that ABC canceled the show because of her public support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“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 wrote on Instagram. “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.”

She added that viral video of her at a protest had nothing to do with ABC’s decision.

“If anything my speaking out showed the corporations I work with how important my voice is and anyone that has a POV,” she said. “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.”

Palmer joined the show in August 2019, as part of a revamp amid falling ratings for the then-titled Strahan & Sara. After Strahan, Sara & Keke went off the air in March, Page Six reported it was gone for good.

ABC did not immediately respond to Urban Hollywood 411‘s request for comment on the status of the show.

Watch Palmer’s interview below.

 

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