KeKe Palmer, Sherri Shepherd dismiss critics of Broadway’s ‘Cinderella’ casting

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Weeks ago, Keke Palmer made history, becoming the first African-American actress to star as Cinderella on Broadway.

Sherri Shepherd joins Palmer as the first black woman to play Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, Madame, in the Roger’s and Hammerstein production.

Palmer and Shepherd have been flooded with messages of support on their social media platforms, but during an interview with Chris Witherspoon for MSNBC.com, the ladies revealed how they have handled skeptics and naysayers of their groundbreaking roles.

“I see the [negative comments] on Instagram and stuff like that, and I expected it because I am a film and TV actress. I had never done anything in the Broadway realm or in the theater realm at all,” Palmer said. “I know a lot of people were thinking, ‘She didn’t really audition for it, or she just was given the role.’ But I really did audition for it. I had to learn the lines, the music, I had to dance in that audition room… I worked my behind off.”

“The thing about social media is people have access to give their opinion just willy-nilly, and I think if people just look at Keke’s body of work … she’s very suited to do Broadway,” Shepherd added. “Keke gets in there, and she infuses Cinderella with something so different than you’ve ever seen before.”

Palmer also opened up about joining protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, last month, after the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown.

“I felt so honored as a young woman to be a part of that movement. It was unfortunate what happened to Mike Brown. That was very very tragic. But being out there and seeing how we all came together was the most unbelievable thing to be a part of,” she said.

“I remember there was a crazy part when I was literally running to where the protesters were. And my mom was so mad at me, but I told her, ‘I didn’t come here to just take photos; I came here to really be a part and to understand and to really be kind of the bridge of my generation to be heard.”

Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.