Marriage vs. Playing House
The Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson kerfuffle is instructive.
Black Twitter is abuzz with the disagreement between actress/singer Keke Palmer and her boyfriend/baby daddy Darius Jackson. Apparently, Palmer was in Vegas with girlfriends to attend Usher in residence at the MGM Grand. Palmer was outfitted in a half opaque-half sheer number that left her hind parts exposed. Usher noticed Palmer in the audience, called her up on stage, and started serenading her.
https://twitter.com/dvulton/status/1676727776341282817
The short video went viral, but her boyfriend Jackson was none too pleased at Palmer’s choice of outfit.
Interesting assessment. Makes me wonder how his mother dressed and comported herself. It was clear that Jackson did not approve, but his choice to put Palmer on blast via Twitter rather than speaking with her privately, was a bit sus. In any event, he expressed his discomfort with Palmer’s wardrobe choice from the viewpoint of how a husband expected the wife and the mother of his child to behave.
The Ke-Hive went into full attack mode, calling him sexist, insecure, misogynist, everything but a child of God for making it known that he did not approve of his baby mama prancing around Vegas and going on stage with her ass out.
My Family. My Representation. Jackson says he has “standards and morals” and is just standing by what he believes. It’s clear that Palmer and Jackson did not discuss this type of public showing before they created a child together without benefit of a marriage ceremony. Perhaps they didn’t think it was important. Perhaps they assumed the other would be okay with the choices made individually, rather than as a unit.
You know what they say about when you assume. Lots of asses showing on this one.
But these types of things often get revealed when you walk through a courtship with the intention of a marriage covenant.
Just sayin…
It’s been driving the entertainment news cycle over the past few days, which is why it caught my attention. People are comparing it to another singer named Ciara who made a Vanity Fair Oscar Party appearance in February “wearing” a completely sheer number with her husband, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson dutifully by her side in a velvet-trimmed jacket and black shirt and slacks.
Wilson made no negative comments on the socials about his wife’s outfit, and according to reports, was game to partner with her on this.
Another distinction with a difference. According to one news site:
Ciara and her husband have been open about their Christian faith and even said they abstained from sex until they were married.
It is clear that they made this pact together that her wearing a barely-there dress is perfectly fine with him. These are decisions that married people should be making together and they are the only ones who will live with the consequences, whatever those may be.
While one can question what Ciara and Wilson think about all those scriptures about modesty and how a woman who professes a relationship with Jesus Christ should be adorned, it is apparent that their intimacy goes deeper than clothing choices. Ciara and Russell Wilson committed to marriage and from what they reveal, committed to how they wanted to build their lives together. They celebrated seven years of marriage on July 6, and affirm God’s blessing in bringing them together and their love for each other.
Ciara took to Instagram to pay tribute to her husband, who she shares two children with. “In the Bible, the number 7 represents a full and complete world,” she shared. “My heart is complete and full of gratitude for the love we share. I have everything I want and need in you. Thank you for loving me the way you do. I love you so much.”
Meanwhile, Russell also wrote a gushing message to his wife on his own Instagram page. Along with a slideshow of photos of them together, he said, “God made you perfect for me. You are my peace in a storm. You are my joy in sadness. You are my comfort in trouble. I thank Jesus for you. My forever. Year 7 x forever. Always & Forever.”
Parker and Jackson have been together a little over two years, some entertainment zines describe the relationship as, “on again, off again” until they had a child together. According to one article, Parker initiated the relationship with Jackson, which, no matter how our modern dating era wants to define it, still sets the tone and direction of the relationship. I don’t care what feminists say, men were made to lead and pursue, and when that is bypassed, it affects the tenor and future of the relationship going forward. Parker and Jackson short-circuited something when they made that step, and we get to see it being played out in public.
Despite the rumors of Jackson’s socials going offline, he soon mockingly posted this tweet.
No word from Parker or her publicists how she feels about Jackson on this. It’s clear the two have some work to do on their relationship. The biggest work will be getting their relationship into proper alignment. You can’t have two horses steering in the opposite direction, and this seemingly small matter of a dress may be a symptom of bigger problems.
But aside from it being two women who sing and who make very public fashion choices, there really is no comparison. No matter how the world wants to try and square it, marriage covenant trumps playing house.