Keke Palmer Reveals She Was ’Shocked’ to See Her Ex’s Comment About Her Usher Concert Attire: ‘I Didn’t Know What to Do’ (Exclusive)

Usher did not make Keke Palmer want to leave the one she was with.

The actress, 31, and author of new book Master of Me, opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s cover story about what really happened when she attended Usher’s hit concert last year, and how she handled the fallout with ex Darius Jackson.

In early 2023, Palmer and Jackson appeared every bit the happy couple after welcoming their son Leo in February. But behind the scenes, “there was a lot going on,” she says, even before Jackson took to social media with a gripe that July.

“It’s the outfit tho . . . you a mom,” he wrote in response to a video showing Palmer wearing a sheer dress as she danced with Usher at his concert. Fans immediately came to her defense online — though some commenters stirred the pot.

For her part, “I was speechless,” she says of seeing the uproar the next day.

“I was at a photo shoot and everybody was looking all weird. I was like, ‘Are y’all good?’ And then I randomly was on my phone and I saw,” she says. “It was so crazy. I didn’t want to engage with something that wasn’t reality and fan the fire.”

In Palmer’s opinion, “I was just at a concert, doing what I do as an entertainer, creating a fun moment. How it became a storyline that me and Usher are in love, I don’t know,” she says now.

They were, in fact, not in love and never have been. But ever the savvy businesswoman, Palmer seized the moment and went on to release a cheeky song and music video called “Boyfriend” with the singer. “As we all know, things are never really what they seem,” she says.

As for what contributed to the end of her “unhealthy” relationship with Jackson, she blames the stress of new parenting, and “I imagine fame,” says Palmer, who navigated their painful breakup — which included allegations of domestic violence and a custody battle — publicly.

“It’s just been a monkey on my back all my life. I’m used to it. But I’ve always known, and not just with my romantic relationships, but with my family, with my friends. Fame has always become a burden.”

In this particular case, “I live a very basic life, but fame would make you think that I go to the Usher concert and pull him off the stage and have him wrapped around my finger,” she says. “You might think that, but it’s like, ‘Girl, I’m just like every other mama going out for a night.'”

Adds Palmer, “I cannot control how people perceive me. I can only control how I show up.”

For more on Keke Palmer’s ups and downs in the spotlight, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, available Friday.