Keke Palmer’s Ex Darius Jackson Responds to Retraining Order Request

Keke Palmer‘s ex-partner Darius Jackson has filed a response to the actress’ request for a domestic violence retraining order. In November, Palmer was granted temporary sole custody of their 9-month-old child, as well as a temporary restraining order, after she accused Jackson of physical and emotional abuse. In a response obtained by Rolling Stone, Jackson disagreed with the requested orders, including contact limitations and terms of child custody and visitation.

The documents find Jackson claiming that Palmer was “the primary aggressor,” stating that the actress was “verbally and physically abusive” during their relationship and that “she frequently became agitated and aggressive” after consuming alcohol. Jackson detailed an instance at Palmer’s birthday party during which he claims she punched him in the face, with attached text messages showing that she later apologized.

The events in the response document date back to October 2021. Jackson alleges that Palmer was physically and verbally abusive towards him across a number of instances, including in-person exchanges and text-based communications. “[Palmer] and I began dating in July 2021 and broke up several times briefly before reconciling,” the document alleges. “The final breakup occurred in early October 2023.”

In November 2023, around the time that Palmer filed her initial request for a domestic violence restraining order, Jackson claims they had a verbal altercation that involved the actress’ mother when he arrived at their home to pick up their son, Leodis. That particular section of the document recounts his perspective of the altercation Palmer detailed in her request. He corroborates that she did fall into the couch, and that he did take her phone from her, prior to the police arriving to interview both parties.

“Since obtaining temporary restraining orders in this case, [Palmer] has refused to allow me any access to Leodis, and she rejected my proposal for access in the presence of a monitor,” the custody section of the document reads. “I am requesting the court order joint legal and physical custody.”

Jackson also claims that Palmer has “used social media extensively since obtaining a restraining order” and “has presented a false narrative about our relationship on her podcast.” He states that he has not engaged online for the sake of their son, but adds that his “employment opportunities have been greatly impacted” by Palmer’s social media use.

Earlier this year, Jackson briefly locked down his own social media accounts following backlash for his public criticism of Palmer, who attended Usher’s Las Vegas residency while wearing a sheer dress and black bodysuit. “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” he wrote on Twitter at the time. Palmer did not respond publicly, but later appeared in the music video for the Usher single, “Boyfriend.”

The confrontation was not explicitly detailed in the document filing, but Jackson provided the transcript of a phone call between himself, Palmer, and Palmer’s mother during which he echoed his statement. “Tell her to put some clothes on,” Jackson repeated in the conversation. “She’s a mom. She has to put some clothes on.”