Keke Palmer, one of the hosts of Strahan, Sara and Keke, found herself in hot water this morning after tweeting out a seemingly controversial opinion about how EBT card recipients should spend their funds. After going back and forth with several followers, Palmer further explained her idea after basically being accused of being an out of touch rich woman. The conversation that sprung up as a result was surprisingly thoughtful, though there will likely still be people on both sides of the issue.
Keke Palmer Courting Controversy
Keke Palmer garnered a lot of attention this morning for her red hot take on EBT cards. The former child star and current host was talking about how difficult it was to eat healthily and the struggles she had trying to find non-processed food. “You never realize what healthy food is actually worth until you decide to eat extremely healthy and notice that everything is a million dollars,” the Hustlers star wrote on Twitter early this morning. After a bit of discussion with her followers on the subject, Palmer came up with a suggestion that instantly landed her in trouble.
Imagine if your EBT card could only work on healthy items…
Palmer’s followers on Twitter took the star to task. Many criticized her on the grounds that it’s unfair to tell those who are already suffering from financial difficulties what they can and can not eat. The tweet was also poorly received because Palmer is, herself, a very wealthy woman who clearly doesn’t need any government assistance to feed herself.
https://twitter.com/queend236/status/1325805495077253120?s=20
https://twitter.com/SatansJacuzzi/status/1325792730207883266?s=20
Imagine if poor people could just buy and eat whatever they wanted and not what rich people deemed appropriate
— Eren 🪆🍉 (@galactictsticle) November 9, 2020
Palmer Doesn’t Shy Away From An Argument
Though the immediate reaction to her tweet was overwhelmingly negative, Palmer didn’t back away from interacting with both those who agreed with her and those who disagreed. After a few replies, it was clear that her original tweet was either miscommunicated or misunderstood.
https://twitter.com/KekePalmer/status/1325798051475312652?s=20
https://twitter.com/KekePalmer/status/1325797458782326785?s=20
Evidently, after realizing that her point had been misconstrued, Palmer elaborated her argument further. She tweeted, several hours later, “To clarify my tweet was pertaining to issues w/ healthy foods being 2 expensive & thinking it should be free for those w/ EBT cards. This was not a suggestion for solving all low-income issues. Solely a hopeful solution 4 those with EBT that want to run it up w/ meat & produce.”
https://twitter.com/KekePalmer/status/1325817175974825984?s=20
That argument was much different than her original point and a lot of the arguments against her were solved by Palmer elaborating more. Just because her original point wasn’t the point, most people took it to be doesn’t mean everyone agrees with her now. Multiple people have continued to disagree with her, but the conversation Palmer inspired was at least interesting and thought-provoking.