Keke Palmer accused her ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson of physical and emotional abuse, writing in court documents that he has repeatedly attacked her, trespassed at her home and “became very frustrated” with their 8-month-old son.
Palmer’s request for a temporary restraining order against Jackson, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, was granted by Judge Wendy L. Wilcox, according to a notice obtained by NBC News. The actor was temporarily granted sole custody of their son, Leo, with no visitation for Jackson.
Palmer, whose real name is Lauren Keyana Palmer, said the abuse happened throughout her two-year relationship with Jackson and did not stop after their breakup in early October. She wrote that since the split, he is “even more unhinged, volatile and dangerous,” and she fears for her and their son’s safety.
“It is because of our son, Leo, that I was finally able to end my relationship with Darius once and for all and escape the abuse,” Palmer wrote in the court documents. “Leo is the most important thing in the entire world to me; he needs and deserves to be safe and grow up in an environment free from violence.”
Both Palmer and Jackson declined to comment when contacted by NBC News.
After Palmer filed the documents, Jackson posted a photo on the social media platform X showing him holding their son, with the caption, “I love you, son. See you soon.”
‘Choked’ and ‘body slammed’
The petition detailed multiple times Palmer alleged she was physically attacked by Jackson. She also alleged she suffered emotional abuse and accused Jackson of “love bombing” her.
“Darius would ‘love bomb’ me and make me feel like I was the most important woman in the world, only to get extremely distant and cold over a perceived insult to him. If we were at a party or event, and I spoke with one person too long or looked at someone a ‘certain way,’ he would storm off in a rage — telling me I was [a] ‘slut’ and a ‘whore,’ accuse me of cheating on him, and that I did not love him,” she wrote. “Darius had a way of gaslighting me to make me feel like I was doing something wrong even though I wasn’t.”
During one alleged altercation on Feb. 13, 2022, Palmer said Jackson “choked me and body slammed me onto the stairs in my home” after he became jealous of her showing him a photo of herself in a bikini. Palmer said the pair were attending a friend’s party and she showed him the picture because she was proud of her weight loss results.
Palmer said Jackson was so upset that she was worried they would get into a car accident on the drive back home. She alleged that when they got home, he slammed her on the floor and slapped her “head from side to side.”
The abuse continued the next morning, Palmer wrote. She alleged that Jackson grabbed her by the neck and body-slammed her on the stairs.
Palmer also alleged Jackson would destroy her property, like a private journal she had been keeping since she was 12, as a way to “punish her.”
Alleged abuse continued after breakup
During another alleged incident in April 2022, she said Jackson grabbed her eyeglasses from her, threw them on the ground and stomped on them because he thought Palmer was flirting with a girl at a restaurant — even though she told him she was not. Jackson then opened Palmer’s bag, dumped her belongings on the ground in the rain and tossed her car keys across the parking lot, according to the petition. Jackson got into his own car and left, she wrote.
“I had to put my glasses back together as best I could so I could see to drive, pick up my now wet and dirty clothes and other belongings, and rummage in the bushes across the parking lot to find my car keys before I could leave,” the petition stated.
The most recent alleged abuse toward Palmer happened on Nov. 5, after the couple’s breakup, according to the document. Palmer said she was at her home talking on the phone to her mother when she was “startled” to see Jackson burst through her bedroom door. Palmer said they were not living together and she had not permitted him to come over.
Jackson, according to the petition, was filming Palmer on his cellphone and demanded to see their son. Palmer wrote that she asked him to leave, but he refused to do so.
“I tried to remain calm, but as I was again asking him to leave, he stood up from the chair, walked towards me, and made sure there was no furniture between us. He was yelling, leaning into me, getting into my face. At that point, he lunged at me, grabbing at my neck and face, knocked me backwards over the couch, stole my phone out of my hands, and then ran out of the house,” she wrote.
Palmer said Jackson attempted to drive away and when she blocked his exit with garbage cans, he allegedly almost hit her with his car. Police were called following the altercation, and after interviewing the actor, her sister and Jackson, they told him to leave and warned him not to come back. The officers encouraged Palmer to file for a domestic violence restraining order, she wrote.
Several of the alleged incidents were witnessed by Palmer’s parents, Sharon and Larry Palmer, her sisters and her friends, according to the petition. Surveillance video also captured some of the abuse.
Palmer says she fears for her son’s safety
Palmer said she and Jackson would go to couple’s therapy and “for a time things would get better, but then they would get bad again.”
One feud became public in July when Jackson shamed Palmer over the outfit she wore to Usher’s Las Vegas residency. Video that surfaced showed the “Nope” star wearing a sheer dotted dress with a bodysuit underneath as Usher serenaded her. Jackson shared a video clip of it and wrote, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.”
Palmer later appeared in a music video for Usher’s song “Boyfriend,” sparking rumors that the pair had split and that she was taking a jab at Jackson.
The petition also detailed times when Jackson would allegedly become frustrated with their son and call her names while talking to the baby. During an incident on Sept. 26, Jackson allegedly “started getting rough with Leo physically” while he was changing his diaper.
Palmer said she had to step in “to make sure Darius would not hurt him” and it “almost became a tug of war with Leo” as Palmer attempted to take the baby away from him.
“Darius finally let go and Leo was not harmed, but as I was holding Leo trying to comfort him and finish changing his diaper, Darius hit me in the head before storming out of the room,” she wrote.
The actor said she filed for the petition without telling Jackson, writing that she fears for her and Leo’s safety.
“I am fearful of what retaliatory actions Darius may take against me, including harming or taking our son away, if I give him notice of my request for protection,” she wrote.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 5.
