Keke Palmer series sparks backlash for portrayal of Asian student at HBCU

Keke Palmer is facing criticism following the release of “Southern Fried Rice,” a new KeyTV series about a Korean American student raised by Southern Black parents who begins her freshman year at Wright University, a fictional historically Black college or university (HBCU). The show premiered this week on Palmer’s YouTube-based network and stars Page Yang, Choyce Brown and Kordell Beckham. The show follows KoKo Johnson, a Korean American teen entering college life in a predominantly Black environment.

Critics online said the series undermines the cultural and historical role of HBCUs, which were established in the 19th century to educate Black Americans excluded from predominantly white institutions. One user on X wrote, “I cannot begin to express how tone deaf this series is considering the current political climate.” Another commented, “Meanwhile Asians successfully sued to reduce Black student enrollment at Ivy League schools.”

YouTube viewers also criticized the show’s writing and character portrayals. One commenter wrote, “Not the Black best friend being pregnant and staying home while the Asian friend goes off to an HBCU. Yeaaa pack it up.” Another added, “Let’s write every single stereotype we can think of.”

Palmer, who serves as executive producer, defended the series and highlighted KeyTV’s mission to support Black creatives. “Southern Fried Rice was created by Nakia Stephens,” Palmer said. “While I can’t speak to her inspiration for the show, I can speak to her dedication as a creative.” She added, “What you like is subjective, but the support of Black creatives is not. Whether you like it all or some or none, give these creators a chance to grow as we continue to grow in supporting them.”

Criticism of “Southern Fried Rice” reveals how uneasy audiences can be when a story challenges familiar boundaries of race, culture and belonging. Stephens shared that the series was inspired by her time at Savannah State University, a historically Black college in Georgia, where she observed non-Black students navigating life in predominantly Black spaces. She added that many of the show’s collaborators are HBCU graduates, including the director and several producers.

Korean American author Cindy Wilson, adopted by an African American family and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, captured a similar experience in her memoir “Too Much Soul: The Journey of an Asian Southern Belle.” Her life, steeped in Black Southern identity, shows that being part of a culture is often more about lived experience than just ancestry.

On Instagram, Monique Jones of “Just Add Color Online” noted that the series had the potential to explore the lives of transracial adoptees through the lead character. She referenced films such as “Fakin’ the Funk” and “Catfish in Black Bean Sauce” as examples that handled similar themes and resonated with Black audiences. “Where ‘Southern Fried Rice’ fails is that its writing is not nuanced enough to deal with the level of storytelling that is needed to tell the story of a Korean girl who is raised in a Black community,” Jones wrote, adding that while the show briefly addresses KoKo’s privilege in its final episode, the topic “could’ve happened earlier in the season” to deepen her character development.