Keke Palmer Details Moment Ryan Murphy Allegedly ‘Ripped’ Into Her While Working on Scream Queens

While promoting her upcoming memoir, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the actress opened up about a story she recalls in her book, in which she claims that Murphy “ripped” into her during a phone call after she missed a day of work due to a last-minute schedule change.

According to Palmer, who played Zayday Williams on the comedy horror series, the incident occurred after she was given her filming schedule, and made plans to fulfill another business obligation on a day she was set to have off. However, she said that when that day came, production told her she was required to be on set, but she kept her prior commitment, which allegedly upset Murphy.

Palmer, 31, said Murphy called her and “ripped” into her, telling her she was being unprofessional.

“It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “He was like, “I’ve never seen you behave like this. I can’t believe that you, out of all people, would do something like this.'”

Palmer said she apologized to Murphy, and believed they had worked things out — that was, until one of her costar allegedly shared that they didn’t think that was true.

“I said, ‘Ryan talked to me and I guess he’s cool, it’s fine,'” she recalled one her female costars telling her in her trailer. “And she was like, ‘It’s bad,‘ trying to make me scared or something, which was a little irritating.”

While Palmer believed, per the Los Angeles Times, that she would become one of Murphy’s leading ladies that “you keep seeing in Ryan’s world,” such as her Scream Queens costar Emma Roberts, but she said that possibility was squashed following the alleged incident.

“I’m still not sure Ryan cared, or got it, and that’s okay because he was just centering his business, which isn’t a problem to me,” she writes in her book, per the outlet. “But what I do know is even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I, too, see myself as a business.”

Scream Queens — which ran on Fox for two seasons from 2015 to 2016 — also starred Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Skyler Samuels, Billie Lourd, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Glen Powell.

Murphy has not addressed Palmer’s comments.

Meanwhile, in her book, Palmer claimed another unpleasant interaction occurred during her time on the short-lived series.

According to the LA Times, she said that a white female costar once made a racist comment to her on set. Palmer did not reveal the actress’ name, and referred to the woman as “Brenda” — saying “Brenda” got into a disagreement with someone on set, to which Palmer wrote that she attempted to calm Brenda down, telling her that they should all “have fun and respect each other.”

“Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin F—king Luther King?” Palmer said “Brenda” told her.

As for why she decided not to name the actress who allegedly made the remark, Palmer said she didn’t want her unnamed costar’s alleged comment to hold any power, and didn’t want the story to be about her colleague, per the LA Times.

“It was such a weighted thing that she said, but I didn’t allow that weight to be projected on me, because I know who I am,” Palmer said. “I’m not no victim. That’s not my storyline, sweetie. I don’t care what her a– said. If I allow what she said to cripple me, then she would.”

Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative is out November 19. The book is available to pre-order now.