Keke Palmer sent fans into a frenzy when she revealed she was already thinking about retiring in January 2024. However, the Nope actress has backtracked the comments and clarified she plans to be working for many more years. What has Keke said about her retirement and when does she intend to step out of the spotlight?

Is Keke Palmer Retiring?

The Illinois native hinted that she was ready to take a step away from Hollywood while speaking to Teen Vogue in January 2024.

I don’t know. I think the timer has started,” Keke said with a laugh. “I think it’s because I just haven’t felt it yet. But the timer, I know that it’s around the corner. I don’t know when exactly, but it’s around the corner.”

She then opened up about the legacy she hopes to leave behind with her career, stating that she wants to create a path to help her son, Leo, and other creators. “The main thing I want those legacies to be is [a call] to use your power for good, to use what you have to create spaces and systems for other people to thrive,” Keke told the outlet.

“I just don’t believe in holding everything. I don’t believe in gatekeeping. I’m not a coward. What would that do? I think it’s based in fear,” she continued. “If I’m speaking on it from a compassionate place, I think people, that gatekeep are afraid. So I’m not scared.”

When Does Keke Palmer Plan to Retire?

Shortly after the interview was published, many of Keke’s fans worried that they would stop seeing her on TV and in movies sooner rather than later. However, the True Jackson, VP actress insisted that she doesn’t see herself retiring for a while.

“People took that literally, but I was thinking in like 20 years!” she clarified about the comments while speaking to People in March 2024. “But also, what I will say is I meant a different type of ‘slowing down.’ I think there’s a version of me that really wants to do more producing, that really wants to do more directing, that wants to do even more work, not only in front of the camera.”

 Is Keke Palmer Retiring? Actress Clarifies Comments That ‘Timer Has Started’ on Her Career
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Affinity

Keke said she will still be “doing stuff,” though admitted she doesn’t “know if [she’s] going to always want to be doing three movies a year.”

“That’s amazing. Thank god I am doing that,” she continued about the current trajectory of her career. “But I don’t know if I always want to be doing it at that level or that way.”