Keke Palmer delivered all the laughs on Tuesday night as the host of the annual Time 100 Next gala, which honoured 100 rising stars who are shaping the future of their fields.
“This is like a high school reunion but only the successful people showed up,” Palmer quipped during her opening monologue.
On the red carpet before the dinner event began, the “Nope” star expressed interest in headlining her own original studio comedy.
As for who she’d like to grace the big screen with, Palmer told Variety, “I would love to be in something with my girl Melissa McCarthy. I think me and Adam Sandler can make our way. If Will Smith’s ready to go back to do some comedies, I’m ready.”
Palmer went on to give a passionate elevator pitch of a comedy she’d like to do with Smith, which would be in the same vein of the 1989 rom-com “Look Who’s Talking.”
“[I’d like to do] an action-comedy of some sort, kinda like a haphazard duo that shouldn’t be together but we are together,” Palmer said. “Maybe I’m like a know-it-all punk and he kind of shows me the ropes. I’m good for — not a reboot, an original but conceptual similarity to ‘Look Who’s Talking.’ You remember the baby talking movies? I’m ready to be Kirstie Alley. Let’s go!”
More than half of the Time 100 Next honorees attended the gala — six of which gave inspiring speeches that highlighted the social causes they’re fighting for. Some speakers read their speeches off their phones, while others like Machine Gun Kelly spoke off the cuff.
“I was asked to give my speech 30 minutes ago so I don’t have one,” he said. The musician highlighted how he grew up reading magazines like Time and hopes that his fellow nominees will encourage future generations to read more.
“If I’m speaking frankly, the art of reading is dying in our generation and it’s really sad,” Kelly said. “I know that sounds funny coming from me, but I really—I still, even at meet and greets, fans connect with me by giving me a book, and that’s a thing that we have. So I encourage the 100 and all of the people that have an influence on people to encourage the next generation to connect that with reading.”
“Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins dedicated her speech to the pursuit of “staying true to who you are and making the impact you were meant to make.”
“I was always raised with the sentiment that the quirky things that make you different are what make you beautiful,” Collins said. “So being who we are unapologetically is both a kind of gift that we can give to ourselves, and also, ultimately, an essential ingredient to our work.”
Palmer, who rose to fame as the star of the teen sitcom “True Jackson, VP,” shared some laughs and a heartfelt hug with her former Nickelodeon co-star Jennette McCurdy in between speeches at the dinner.
“Keke Palmer is an old friend of mine and I’m excited to see her and hug her,” McCurdy told Variety on the red carpet before the dinner. “I love her to pieces. I’m so thrilled for all her success.”
In her recent best-selling memoir “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” McCurdy spotlighted several disturbing experiences she endured on set of the hit Nickelodeon series “iCarly” and her difficult relationship with her mother who died in 2013.
“I’m so grateful that — I feel like society is at a place where vulnerability is really validated and rewarded,” she said. “I think that’s so helpful for young people. It seems like an exciting time culturally.” (Variety)