Keke Palmer is unabashedly reclaiming her space. On the Sept.19 episode of her “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast, the actor and new mom got candid about breastfeeding in conversation with special guest Janelle Monáe. While discussing the importance of pleasure, sexuality, and personal empowerment, Palmer shared how she learned to overcome the anxiety associated with pumping in public.
“I think I carry a lot of shame sometimes when I’m in public spaces because I don’t want to make other people uncomfortable, and I’ve had to really come around to not worrying about that,” she told Monáe. “It’s a really bad feeling when you feel that you’re embarrassing somebody that you’re with or you’re being an embarrassment in public.”
Pushing past these fears — particularly in light of recent public shaming from the father of her son — Palmer said she’s working on feeling more comfortable no matter where she is. “It’s been similar with the pumping. I know people are trying to be helpful, but I’ve been around, I’ve been pumping in public and it’s like, it is what it is, motherf*ckers,” she continued. “People are like, ‘We have a room for that if you’d like to go to the room,’ and I’m like, ‘Well if the room makes you feel comfortable, I’m fine with it either way, because the baby gonna eat regardless.'”
“It is what it is, motherf*ckers.”
Despite breastfeeding being a completely natural act, doing so in public still seems to be a major source of contention. Public breastfeeding horror stories continue to pepper the internet, making it seem like a daunting task instead of the stress-free experience families deserve. Palmer’s determination to breastfeed in public, or wherever she pleases, is an encouraging reminder that you deserve to take up space.
“People are getting free by watching you,” Monáe said. “You say, ‘You don’t tell me what to do with my body. You don’t tell me how to act as a mother. You don’t define that. I define that.’ And that is what I’m saying, too.”