Keke Palmer appeared on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live to discuss the true reason behind the cancellation of her talk show Strahan, Sara & Keke. The daytime talk show, which she co-hosted with Michael Strahan and Sara Haines, was canceled back in March.
"Here’s the thing," said Keke. "When the pandemic hit, that became all that was on our minds — the pandemic, corona, understanding COVID. So I kind of knew that, if our show did come back, it would have to be much, much, much later [in the year]."
In light of the current spread of COVID-19, Keke says she expected Strahan, Sara & Keke to be taken off the air. The show was replaced with a daily coronavirus report, GMA 3: What You Need to Know.
“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. It’s really fun conversations and lightheartedness,” she continued. “So it’s a different time now, and some of the conversation has changed, and I think it [pushed] us out.”
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Palmer had recently taken to Instagram to debunk rumors that her speaking out against injustice caused the show to be canceled.
“I hate talking about business because it can seem a bit weird and gets quite technical lol. But when I see such fear mongering comments I want to speak out so that no one ever feels or thinks that speaking out will cost them their job!” wrote Keke. “I’m sure it can and has before, but let’s also recognize when it has not.”
Keke’s attempt to convince some national guardsmen to march alongside herself and other Black Lives Matter activists came up on Watch What Happens Live: “At the end of the day… [everything has] a risk and a reward… I got wrapped up in the emotion and I was hoping that we could walk together and just have that powerful moment together. He didn’t want to do it, and that’s OK.”
She offered one more call to action against injustice: “If we are going to be challenging authority, then this is the time. This is the time to invoke change and get justice and get peace, and for us to come together against the things that we’re not with.”
Check out the interview below.