Keke Palmer remembers a life-changing voicemail from Will Smith

Keke Palmer recalls how a voicemail from Will Smith empowered her throughout her life and career, providing support as she made a major life decision as a child star.

The Nickelodeon alum recently revealed how she once considered seeking emancipation from her parents at the age of 17 during her early years as a Hollywood star.

But she had a change of heart after receiving an unexpected phone call from Hitch actor.

The call came while she was on set True Jackson, VPThe Nickelodeon series that aired from 2008 to 2011.

“I get a call from this really, really obscure number,” Keke recalled on the Nov. 19 episode of The Toast podcast. “And I’m like, ‘What? That’s weird, I’m not answering this.'”

The No actress, who is mother to 21-month-old son Leodis with ex-partner Darius Jackson, shared that she missed the call but later learned that she got a voicemail from Will.

In the message, he offered words of encouragement and encouraged her to continue after learning about her situation through her lawyer.

“Hi, Keke. It’s Will,” Keke said, trying to speak like the Oscar winner.

“’We do over here The Karate Kid with (my son) Jaden. I just want to let you know that I have spoken with (your lawyer). He told me everything you go through and I want you to know sometimes it’s hard to be the first but you will get through. Just stay focused, love your family and you’ll be fine.”

At the time, Keke thought that becoming a child star was something completely new to everyone around her, which made her feel isolated from her family.

“I had problems with my parents at the time where they just didn’t understand what I was going through,” she explained. “So, it wasn’t quite peachy.”

“This was a difficult thing for me that I felt meant I had to throw my family away,” she said, but she was not alone in those difficult times.

“I’ve always had a lot of people – whether they’re notable names or they’re my lawyer – that I had a good community, that my parents also made sure I was around, that would encourage community and couldn’t suffer discord and we part.”