Keke Palmer gets real about difficult teen years in the spotlight

Keke Palmer has opened up about the difficult experiences she faced as a teenager, saying it was the darkest period of her life.

The admission came during a conversation with Whoopi Goldberg at the Tribeca Festival's Storytellers series, where said she struggled with fame and often felt alone.

The actress explained that while her family was supportive, they experienced fame differently than she did because she was the one in the spotlight.

Palmer said there was a time when her whole family was affected by the pressures of fame, but she felt that no one truly understood what she was going through.

"I was so sad," she said. "The pain was so deep that I almost felt numb."

Palmer began acting as a child and became well known after appearing in Akeelah and the Bee and starring in the Nickelodeon series True Jackson, VP.

She recalled a moment during her teenage years when she sat alone in her room and realised that people seemed more interested in her public image than in who she really was.

Palmer added that people expected her to always be cheerful and positive. She felt that when she showed sadness, exhaustion, or other difficult emotions, people did not want to hear it.

She also worried that speaking openly about her struggles could affect her family's success.

As a result, Palmer said she created a version of herself that could handle public expectations while hiding her true feelings.

She described that moment as the point when the public persona of "Keke Palmer" was born.

Palmer said she learned to keep her sensitive side hidden as a way to protect herself. Over time, she became so used to doing this that she almost forgot she had buried those feelings.