Keke Palmer Explains Why She 'Expected' Her Good Morning America Talk Show to Be Canceled

In the great tradition of What What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Keke Palmer opened up about something personal on Sunday night's episode. During the After Show, Cohen asked Palmer about her reaction to the recent cancellation of her Good Morning America talk show, Strahan, Sara and Keke, and Palmer had some thoughts about why it didn't surprise her.

"Here's the thing, when the pandemic hit, that's what became on all of our minds -- was the pandemic, corona, understanding COVID," Palmer said. "So I kind of knew that, you know, if our show did come back, it would have to be much, much, much later because our show is really about an audience."

She explained that while the ABC show, which she hosted alongside Michael Strahan and Sara Haines, occasionally tackled news, it was primarily about "fun conversations" and setting a "lighthearted" tone. "It's a different time now," she added. "Some of the conversations just changed, and just kind of pushed SSK out. So I expected it."

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Reports about the cancellation of Strahan, Sara and Keke, which ABC has yet to officially confirm, began surfacing in July. ABC had pulled the talk show from the air March, replacing it with an Amy Robach-hosted news program about the COVID-19 crisis called Pandemic: What You Need to Know. The show is now known as GMA3: What You Need to Know. 

Fans initially speculated that the cancellation of Strahan, Sara and Keke was related to Palmer speaking out about Black Lives Matter after a video of her confronting members of the National Guard spread across social media. Palmer refuted the rumors in an Instagram post, calling the idea "dangerous." 

"I want to speak on this simply because I hate the narrative that if you speak your mind as a Black person that you will in some way be punished," Palmer wrote in the caption. "If anything my speaking out showed the corporations I work with how important my voice is and anyone that has a POV. The reality is I was never signed to SSK as one would a seasonal show."

She continued, "I hate talking about business because it can seem a bit weird and gets quite technical lol. But when I see such fear mongering comments I want to speak out so that no one ever feels or thinks that speaking out will cost them their job! I'm sure it can and has before, but let's also recognize when it has not. That way more of us with our own minds speak out against any injustices we see."

Palmer initially joined the third hour of Good Morning America as a fill-in co-host while Haines was on maternity leave. She joined the show, which was then renamed Strahan, Sara and Keke, full time in August 2019.