Body Language Expert Tells Us What's Really Going On With Keke Palmer And Usher

In July 2023, Keke Palmer and Usher made headlines when a video was taken of the two cozying up during the "U Got It Bad" singer's concert at his Las Vegas residency. Usher serenaded the actor with his song "There Goes My Baby" as Palmer giggled while showing off her sheer dress worn over a racy bodysuit. The interaction may have been innocent, but that didn't stop Palmer's boyfriend Darius Jackson from lashing out on social media. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, he wrote in a now-deleted tweet, "It's the outfit tho.. you a mom." While he didn't address her dancing closely with Usher, Jackson further mom-shamed Palmer by adding that he didn't like Palmer showing her "booty cheeks."

Perhaps Jackson's jealousy was a bit warranted as celebrity love coach and body language expert Nicole Moore thought there was a spark between Palmer and Usher. "When Keke first approached Usher for his serenade, she played with her hair, flicking it back as if to fix her hair, a classic body language indicator that she wanted to look good for him and thus may have been feeling some attraction," she told Nicki Swift. Moore continued, "Their body language here is that of a flirty connection rather than friends and they definitely appear to have a more intimate connection." After the Vegas exchange, Palmer went on to star in Usher's "Boyfriend" music video but according to Moore, the flirty vibe we all saw in Vegas was no longer apparent.

After Keke Palmer's now-ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson slammed her outfit, she showed off her shady side by starring in Usher's music video for his song "Boyfriend." However, there was none of the sexual tension seen at the Las Vegas show and Nicole Moore noted that when Palmer and Usher are dancing together, they smile at each other in a friendly way but their bodies don't touch. She shared with Nicki Swift, "Their body language here communicates friendly colleagues rather than romance."

In a behind-the-scenes video, Palmer and Usher carried on their professional camaraderie. "While Usher showed Keke a video on his phone, Keke maintained a straight body and did not lean her body into Usher to view the video, her body language here indicating she was remaining independent of Usher rather than wanting to merge into him as she might if she felt romantic feelings toward him," the love expert observed. Moore went on to state that if the two did have any sparks between them, they hid it well, adding, "It's possible that they didn't have romantic feelings here or they were putting on a professional face to hide the feelings."

Keke Palmer continued to have people guessing about her relationship with Usher when she paid a tribute to the "OMG" singer at the 2024 BET Awards. However, as Palmer sang "You Make Me Wanna" and showed off her dance moves, body language expert Nicole Moore didn't catch any signs of passion for Usher during her performance. "The song she performed was about wanting to leave a relationship for someone else and while she performed it well, there was no voice change or body emphasis when the lyrics mentioned wanting to leave," she told Nicki Swift. Moore added, "If Keke had genuine feelings of wanting to leave her relationship for Usher, her body language or her tone of voice would have likely changed when singing those lyrics as the genuine emotion would have been there." As for Usher, he mimicked Palmer's raised arms at the end of her performance while beaming widely, which showed that he loved her performance and could have a crush on her.

While Palmer and Usher did initially have a flirty moment in Las Vegas, Moore thinks things have cooled off between them. They were both strictly professional on the set of Usher's music video and Palmer showed no indication of being attracted to the "My Boo" singer during the BET Awards tribute. The love coach does note that it's possible that there might have been feelings between the two celebrities and although it seems Usher is still attracted to Palmer, the two are keeping things platonic.