Keke Palmer on perfecting her pole-dancing skills for ‘Hustlers’ and scoring ‘GMA: 3’ gig

The actress also weighed in on her new hosting gig on GMA.

Sep 13, 2019

Written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. Inspired by the article published by New York Magazine entitled “The Hustlers at Scores” written by Jessica Pressler; the film boasts an all-star cast.

Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, and features Mercedes Ruehl and Cardi B are all part of the project that will also feature a cameo from Lizzo.

theGrio caught up with Keke Palmer to find out how she learned to work the pole for her new role just before news broke that she would be joining Michael Strahan for GMA:3 for good.

“I love it and it’s something I have been wanting to do for a long time. Since I did my first talk show when I was 19,” she said. “So to do this and have this opportunity and be so embraced by ABC, Sara and Michael, it definitely means we can do more stuff.”

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The actress revealed her favorite move from the movie. “I can’t really remember the name, but you’re spinning your legs around, one is a kind of a kickback, climbing up the pole and then coming down,” she said before admitting the film also showed her how real women are making a living as strippers.

“I have seen many strippers make a nice living. Especially in those high profile areas, like Miami or New York,” she said. “They do private parties, have their own personal dancers and create another lane. There are so many ways you can create a hustle off being a stripper. Some people are trying to take advantage of women and there’s a lot of money to be made but it’s high stakes.”

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Keke Palmer got to work with Jennifer Lopez for the flick, and considering J. Lo is the master of juggling several talents, we’re hoping Palmer got some inspiration about how to balance her TV gigs, movie roles, and music career all at once.

“It’s very hard. It’s not easy at all. Sometimes music gets the shorter end of the stick. But I do trust in God’s timing with everything. I follow where He leads me…When I did my first talk show it only lasted for a short while and then here it comes back around. I’ve got another opportunity,” she explained.

“Sometimes I’m working on television and then next thing you know, I’ll just be doing straight movies. Then everything will be quiet with the acting and then I’ll just be focused on music speaking engagements. I allow God to clear that space for me and I follow my heart on what I feel I can give most to at that time and I’m really learning to say ‘no’ to the things that I cannot take on even if it’s even if I love it.”

Hustlers hits theaters September 13.