Keke Palmer recalls Ryan Murphy yelling at her while filming forScream Queens.Scream Queensis aMurphy-created TV seriesthat ran for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. Taking a partial anthology format, the show followed a series of murders by a serial killer who takes on their victims in different locations.Scream Queensfeatured a star-studded leading cast including Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Billie Lourd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Glen Powell, Niecy Nash, Kirstie Alley, and Taylor Lautner.
In an excerpt from her new memoirMaster of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative(perVariety), Palmer reveals an unfortunate interaction she had with Murphy on the set ofScream Queens. The actor explained that she was given a filming schedule and arranged another business opportunity for a day she was not scheduled to film. When she was called to set anyway,she decided to keep the other obligation, leading to an angry outburst from Murphy. He told her “I’ve never seen you behave like this.” Check out the full quote from Palmer below:
It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office. He was like, ‘I’ve never seen you behave like this. I can’t believe that you, out of all people, would do something like this.’
I said, ‘Ryan talked to me and I guess he’s cool, it’s fine,’ and she was like, ‘It’s bad,’ trying to make me scared or something, which was a little irritating.
I’m still not sure Ryan cared, or got it, and that’s okay because he was just centering his business, which isn’t a problem to me. But what I do know is even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I, too, see myself as a business.
What This Means For Ryan Murphy
This Story Is Further Damaging To Murphy’s Reputation
After Murphy’s initial ire, Palmer reported that she apologized to the producer for not being able to film that day. She thought that everything was fine between them and that he had calmed down. When speaking to a co-star on set a few days later, however, it was revealed that Murphy was still angry. As such,Palmer felt that Murphy was “trying to make [her] scared or something.“Palmer understood that Murphy was just worried about “his business,” but in the future has to understand that Palmer too “see[s] [her]self as a business.”
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Scream Queensis not the first Murphy-led TV show from which problems have emerged.Posestar Angelica Ross previously accused the showrunner of racism and transphobia when he allegedly left her on read regarding a now-scrappedseason ofAmerican Horror Storythat would have been led by Black women. Actors on Murphy’s sets have also been accused of bad behavior, includingGlee’s Michele. The story about Palmer’sScream Queensexperience only furthers this trend.
Our Take On Murphy’s On-Set Conduct
This Is An Unfortunate Track Record For Such A Prolific Creator
This trend is particularly worrying for a creator like Murphy. Not only is he a prominent figure in television, but he is one who has attempted to use his platform and work to elevate the voices of historically marginalized groups. From his track record on shows likeScream Queens, however, Murphy has shut down and upset members of these groups. Moving forward, this could damage Murphy’s reputation and the faith both actors and audiences will have in him to give voice to underrepresented populations.
Scream Queens
Cast
A dark satirical comedy-horror series, Scream Queens follows a college sorority group at Wallace University where an unsolved murder case is resurrected following a string of new murders. When the school’s mascot, the Red Devil, begins murdering sorority members, the girls fight against the potential closure of their home while trying to stay alive.
