From the creative genius who brought you “Kate Winslet, and you know what you did” and “Sorry to this man” comes a whole slew of fresh viral content culled from the press tour for Jordan Peele’s latest film, “Nope.”
In recent weeks, the star-studded cast of “Nope” — including Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun and Keke Palmer — has been making the rounds on red carpets, magazine covers and the late-night TV circuit to promote Universal Pictures’ sci-fi thriller, in theaters Friday.
And unsurprisingly, no one has been generating more buzz and sparking more joy than Palmer, whose charismatic charm, impeccable fashion sense and witty remarks have taken over social media in the best way possible.
In addition to the movie’s overwhelmingly positive reviews, Palmer’s ability to churn out soundbite after instantly meme-able soundbite undoubtedly will bolster the opening-weekend box office performance of Peele’s highly anticipated follow-up to “Get Out” and “Us.”
As the great Issa Rae once said (Wednesday on Twitter), “Keke can make absolutely ANYTHING entertaining. Wow.”
Please enjoy this small sampling of internet gems the beloved actor, singer and TV host has given us so far on the road to “Nope.”
‘And who the hell are they?’
Add “X-Files” characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to the growing list of notable people Palmer couldn’t identify if her life depended on it.
After famously and hilariously failing to recognize former Vice President Dick Cheney during a lie-detector test conducted by Vanity Fair two years ago, the performer struck viral gold again with the sequel to “Sorry to this man” we didn’t know we needed.
While reading fan theories with her “Nope” co-stars in a new video for Vanity Fair, a perplexed Palmer encountered the names of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson’s iconic “X-Files” detectives.
Following a dramatic pause, Palmer lowered her voice and asked her castmates, “And who the hell are they?”
In response to the clip — which has amassed more than 3 million views on Twitter alone — @dansensolsens tweeted, “KEKE DON’T KNOW ANYBODY MY GOD,” while @Danez_Smif wrote, “Keke Palmer not knowing white people is my political party.”
‘With Angela, it’s all in the lips’
Note to Hollywood: It’s time for an onscreen reunion between Palmer and her “Akeelah and the Bee” co-star Angela Bassett.
During her Wired autocomplete interview, Palmer revealed that her lifelong celebrity doppelgänger is Bassett before delivering back-to-back impressions of the veteran actor’s performances in 1992’s “The Jacksons: An American Dream” and 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
“With Angela, it’s all in the lips,” Palmer explained. “It’s all in the lips.”
“KEKE PALMER DID NOT HAVE TO DO ANGELA BASSET LIKE THIS,” @lexisryann_ captioned the clip, which has racked up more than 2 million views on Twitter.
“She is truly a STAR,” tweeted @MediumSizeMeech. “An Angela Bassett mother/daughter Oscar bait filmé where Angela has Alzheimer’s and Keke goes back to her childhood home to take care of her even tho they’re estranged and drama ensues WHEN.”
‘Who’s cuttin’ the check?’
While other Nickelodeon and Disney Channel stars of the early 2000s were playing checkers, Palmer was playing chess.
The former child star — known for standout roles in the Disney Channel original movie “Jump In!” and the Nickelodeon sitcom “True Jackson, VP” — recently reflected on her time working for both rival networks while most young actors stayed loyal to one or the other.
“Here’s the funny thing: I did a little company-hoppin’ back and forth between Disney and Nickelodeon,” Palmer told Wired. “I said, ‘Who’s cuttin’ the check?’”
“Keke Palmer really said she had Disney AND Nickelodeon on the line and you would do it too for a check!!” tweeted Entertainment Tonight editor Mekishana Pierre.
“Yes!” replied @twilover628. “She’s the only one I could think of who did this. ICON.”
In yet another viral Vanity Fair moment, Palmer did not appreciate one “Nope” fan referring to her character as “the lady” while speculating about the film on social media.
“The lady,” Palmer, 28, repeats in a clip that has been viewed about 200,000 times on Vanity Fair’s TikTok page. “I’m hoping this is an extremely young person because when did I get promoted to lady? I’m not a girl?”
As if on cue, Palmer then launched into an impromptu cover of Britney Spears’ “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.”
“Keke is a whole mood,” wrote TikTok user @yo._.nina.
“Facts!!” wrote @josh_p_jackson. “Once teens stop saying ‘hey’ when asking a question to ‘excuse me sir or mam’ that’s when you know. Lol.”
‘Am I fun?’
After following Palmer’s trajectory on the “Nope” press tour, most people would probably leap at the opportunity to be her friend.
But when asked by Glamour magazine to describe herself as a friend, the Emmy winner quickly spiraled into a mini existential crisis.
“I think I’m a fun friend,” she said confidently, at first. “I always try to make my friends laugh and stuff like that and do fun activities. We go [to] Boat Cinema, Rooftop Cinema.”
With a pensive look, she added, “Damn, it seem like all I do is go to the cinema. Am I fun?”
“keke is just like me,” tweeted @ncrmalpeople.
“That, ‘Damn,’ towards the end,” tweeted @RearViewGone. “Saying it out loud makes you realize you are that problem you thought someone else was.”