Keke Palmer’s Boyfriend Darius Jackson Admits to Holding Her to ‘Perfect Standard’ in New Interview

Keke Palmer’s boyfriend Darius Jackson spoke openly about the strains of their relationship in an interview conducted before the couple’s recent drama.

Jackson said he held Palmer, 29, to a “perfect standard” after going public with their romance as he joined the actress on the latest episode of her podcast Baby, This is Keke Palmer.

“At first, it definitely was hard because it could all be very overwhelming. It was definitely overwhelming and intense at first,” he said. “It was,” Palmer agreed. Their chat was recorded before Jackson’s public rant last week over Palmer’s outfit at Usher’s Las Vegas concert.

“And it’s like, you almost feel that pressure of needing to be perfect,” Jackson continued. “And so, it really confused me and infiltrated my mind because not only did I have to hold myself to that perfect standard, I was also holding you to a perfect standard as well.”

He added, “So, any moment of flaw on my side or on your side it was World War III because it’s like…” “— And now the world sees us,” Palmer commented.

“Exactly,” Jackson said. He and Palmer have been dating since 2021 and welcomed their first child, son Leo in February.

Speaking further on their relationship, Palmer said, “Its a lot of pressure, because we are very proud and there are things that we want to share…at the same time we do want to be able to maintain the privacy of our relationship, and I feel like we’ve done such a good job at being able to do that.”

Last week, Jackson received backlash online after he called out the Nope actress for wearing a fitted, black bodysuit under a sheer dress to watch Usher perform at his Las Vegas Residency.

Jackson quoted a tweeted a video of Palmer dancing with the “Confessions” singer, 44, alongside the text, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.”

Following the negative response to his comments, he wrote in a tweet, “We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn’t want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is.

“This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case.”

On Friday, Palmer seemingly responded to the public drama in a video with son Leo on Instagram. “One thing is certain and one thing is true, IM A MOTHA, through and through! ????,” the 29-year-old actress captioned.

Jackson briefly deactivated his social media accounts on Thursday before returning Friday. Eagle-eyed followers noticed that posts including Palmer were missing from his Instagram account. The new parents are no longer following each other on that platform.