Scream Queens’ Skyler Samuels Praises Costar Keke Palmer For Standing Up to ‘Bullies on Set’

On Thursday, Samuels — who played Grace Gardner on the Fox series co-created by Ryan Murphy — posted a statement on Instagram, in which she praised Palmer over her recent comments about the show, and also claimed her costar “stood up” for her despite the alleged “bullies on set.”

“I am incredibly proud of Keke for speaking out about her experiences on Scream Queens. That’s what Keke does, she speaks up and stands up, for herself and others,” Samuels, 30, began in her statement. “Scream Queens was a very challenging show for me. Keke was one of the only people who stood up for me.”

“She was brave enough to have my back even though she knew it might make her a target of bullies on set,” she added. “I have unending gratitude for the professionalism and kindness Keke showed me. She is a leading lady in this industry, who is well aware of her influence, and she uses it for the better.”

In addition to a photo of her statement, Samuels also shared a sweet throwback photo of herself and Palmer, 31, tagging her in the shot.

“She’s a true queen @keke 👑💗,” she captioned her post.

Palmer reacted to Samuels’ message in a comment on her post, writing, “I love you honey ❤️.” She also re-shared her costar’s post on her Instagram Stories, adding a heart emoji.

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

Samuels’ comments come just a few days after Palmer opened up about her time working on the comedy horror series, in which she starred as Zayday Williams.

While promoting her upcoming memoir, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the actress discussed 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, 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 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.”

Murphy has not addressed Palmer’s comments.

Elsewhere 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.”