Keke Palmer gives her take on the 2023 drama involving her ex Darius Jackson and an Usher concert on her new song “My Confession.” The musically inclined actress has released a track that interpolates a small part of Usher’s “Confessions Part II” — appropriate, given that the singer was at the center of a public debacle involving her ex.
On the song, Palmer addresses Jackson and shares her version of what happened after she had a “girls night” where Usher serenaded her on stage. She claims that she and Jackson were already broken up at the time of the viral moment.
“Forty-eight hours later online/Made me a villain for sympathy but you lied/But the truth is in Vegas we was already over, boo,” sings Palmer on the track.
Later, she addresses their rocky relationship, singing, “You almost turned me into a cliché/Thought having your baby would make me wanna stay.”
Palmer wrote on Instagram that the track is “exactly what it sounds like — me giving voice to the feelings I buried.”
“Sometimes the closure we need doesn’t come from a conversation—it comes from being honest with ourselves,” she added. “That’s what this song is. My peace. My clarity. My way of letting go… I’m not here to play perfect. I’m here to be honest. I’m just here to be Keke.”
Jackson kicked off his beef with Palmer after a video of Usher singing to her went viral in 2023. He responded on X, writing, “It’s the outfit tho..you a mom.”
After facing swift backlash for his comments, Jackson left social media but later returned without addressing his comments. Meanwhile, Palmer seemed unbothered — even going so far to star in a music video with Usher.
A serious legal battle between Palmer and Jackson ensued that same year, leading to accusations of abuse from Palmer, a restraining order, and child custody arguments. The case was eventually dropped in favor of mediation.
Back in January, Palmer spoke about the “toxic dynamic” in her relationship with Jackson.
"There’s a sensationalization that happens with that word," she told The Cut. "But there really are often no other words to describe such a toxic dynamic."