Why Keke Palmer Chose to Reveal She Was Pregnant with Leo on SNL: "It Was Crazy"
The Password host had a big surprise for viewers when she hosted in 2022.
Actress, author, podcaster, and Emmy-winning Host of Password Keke Palmer got the chance to do something few others have when she announced her pregnancy in realtime during her Saturday Night Live monologue.
Palmer made her hosting debut on December 3, 2022, during Season 48. She delivered a charming speech about her great year and her attempts to manifest an Oscar nomination for her role in the movie Nope. A masterful celebrity impersonator, she casually dropped an Aziz Ansari impression before changing the subject.
"I'm especially glad to be here, because there's some rumors going around. People have been in my comments saying Keke's having a baby, Keke's pregnant, and I want to set the record straight," she told the Studio 8H audience, tearing open her shirt to reveal that she was, indeed, visibly expecting.
"I am! I got to say though, it is bad when people on the internet spread rumors about you — but it's even worse when they're correct," she joked.
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Keke Palmer was pregnant with son Leo when she hosted SNL
Palmer's son Leo was born just a couple of months later on February 25, 2023. On May 31, 2025, Palmer stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show and talked about Leo's massive second birthday party. Visiting alongside Eddie Murphy, Palmer also reminisced about making the announcement on SNL.
"It was crazy, because first of all, it was a great opportunity — SNL has been around forever. I love doing sketch comedy," Palmer told Hudson.
"I just remember being pregnant and being like, 'OK, I'm gonna reveal it on the show tonight,'" she continued. "I kept thinking to myself, like, when am I going to say that I'm pregnant? You don't want to be like 'I'm gonna announce it,' but you do gotta let folks know. So I was like, do I do pictures online? No, that doesn't feel right. Then I heard I was going to be Host, and I said this is when I'll do it."
Watch Palmer's monologue from Season 48, Episode 7 above.
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Keke Palmer sang and acted her heart out on Season 48, Episode 7
The Nope star got to show off all of her comedy chops during her Season 48 episode, which also featured her One of Them Days costar SZA as the Musical Guest. She outsang her peers in "Choir Practice," starred in a soap opera with Cecily Strong and Bowen Yang, joined other ladies in the cast for a video about how they love "Big Boys," and got to join Kenan Thompson in a reboot of Kenan & Kel called Kenan & Kelly.
She also joined Yang as a Hello Kitty skeptic in a sketch about the opening of a new Hello Kitty store. What do you mean Hello Kitty is a human little girl who's in the third grade, weighs 5 apples, stands 3 apples tall, has a boyfriend who is a cat, and was born in 1974?
Stream Keke Palmer's SNL episode — and episodes from every season of Saturday Night Live — on Peacock anytime.
