After a whirlwind romance, Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson confirmed they had split up in August this year. Now, Keke Palmer, is filing a restraining order against Darius and is accusing him of being physically and emotionally abusive over a two-year period.
Keke, 30, has applied for sole custody of their eight-month son, Leodis, who was born in February this year. ‘It is because of our son, Leo, that I was finally able to end my relationship with Darius once and for all and escape the abuse,’ Keke has said. ‘Leo is the most important thing in the entire world to me; he needs and deserves to be safe and grow up in an environment free from violence.’
The couple made headlines earlier this year when a video went viral of Keke dancing with Usher at his Las Vegas residency. At the time, Darius, 29, took to Twitter to criticise Keke’s outfit, a move which generated backlash online.
Here’s everything we know so far about the allegations against Darius…
What has Keke Palmer alleged about Darius Jackson?
Keke alleges that Darius has been physically abusive on multiple occasions over a two-year period, according to documents obtained by US Weekly and other publications. She alleges the most recent abuse took place on 5 November.
In the documents, Palmer claims that ‘Darius trespassed into my home without my knowledge or consent, threatened me, then physically attacked me — lunging for my neck, striking me, throwing me over the couch, and stealing my phone when I told him I was going to call the police.’ CCTV imagery included with the documents shows a figure grappling with another on a blue sofa as well as by a staircase.
In the declaration, Keke alleges there were ‘many instances of physical violence, including striking and grabbing me around the neck, descriptions of Darius destroying my personal property, including diaries and prescription eyeglasses, throwing my belongings into the street, throwing my car keys to prevent me from driving away, hitting me in front of our son, spewing profanities about me to our son, threatening to kill himself with a gun if I left him, harassment, and other physical and emotional abuse.’
Keke also accused Jackson of having‘love bombed’ her. ‘The abuse during our relationship was not just physical, but emotional and manipulative,’ she continues. ‘Darius would “love bomb” me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him. If we were at a party or event, and I spoke with one person too long or looked at someone a “certain way”, he would storm off in a rage – telling me I was “s***” and a “whore,” accuse me of cheating on him, and that I did not love him. Darius had a way of gaslighting me to make me feel like I was doing something wrong even though I wasn’t.’
Jackson has not addressed the abuse allegations. However, on Thursday, he sent a message to his son via social media. ‘I love you, son. See you soon,’ he wrote on X, alongside a photo of him holding Leo.
What happened between Keke Palmer and Usher at the concert?
The rift in Kekeand Darius’ relationship began earlier this year when a video emerged of Usher and Keke dancing together at his Las Vegas Residency. Darius shared the video on X with the caption ‘It's the outfit tho.. you a mom.’
After receiving backlash for the tweet, Darius posted again, writing, ‘We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn't want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is.’
Usher addressed the video in an interview with PEOPLE in August. ‘I think everybody's vision or a version of what they felt happened there just leads you back to just really having a good time in Las Vegas,’ he said. ‘And that's what I hope came out of it. Rather, it was a conversation of what was going on with us having fun in front of the audience or conversation about that song.’
Although Keke has not directly addressed Jackson's remarks, she did share some advice for new mums in an interview. ‘Do you, new moms. Do you,’ she said. ‘Girl, if there's one person on this earth that loves you for sure, it's that baby. Be happy, because there's no love like it. Somebody loving you like that, hell, who cares?’
How long were Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson together?
Keke and Darius met each other in early 2021 at a Memorial Day party. In March, Keke made her first comments about the relationship in an interview with Bustle. ‘I just think [this] was a moment in time in my life where I really stepped into this kind of boss behavior [of doing] whatever the hell I want to do’ she said. ‘This is the happiest I’ve ever felt with someone. So why would I go out of my way to hide this person? That’s a lot more work than just living in my life and being in my life. You know what I’m saying?’
In December 2022, Keke confirmed she was pregnant with their first child, and she gave birth to Leo in February 2023. However, after the video circulated of Keke and Usher, the pair confirmed they had split in August this year.