Keke Palmer Reacts toHot OnesHost Sean Evans Crushing on Her: ‘I Knew the Vibes Were Vibing’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Keke Palmer and ‘Hot Ones’ host Sean Evans.Photo:Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Keke Palmerknows good chemistry when she feels it!

“I was living for it,” Palmer tells PEOPLE, remembering the pair’s “good chemistry” while filming her iconicHot Onesepisodein 2021 — plus, an even earlierepisodein 2017.

“Not to say that I was surprised or I wasn’t surprised,” she continues. “But when I heard it and people were sending it to me, I was like, ‘I knew the vibes were vibing.’ ”

Sean Evans and Keke Palmer on ‘Hot Ones’ in 2021.First We Feast/YouTube

First We Feast/YouTube

Evans, 38, first shared that he was crushing on Palmer while appearing on another chicken-themed celebrity interview show, Amelia Dimoldenberg’sChicken Shop Date.

During theHot Oneshost’s episode last November, Dimoldenberg asked Evans if he has “ever had a crush on a guest.” After admitting that he had — and making theChicken Shophost guess their identity — he revealed that it was Palmer.

“Very charming,” he said of the actress. “Very charming woman.”

At the time, Palmer reacted to a clip of theChicken Shopadmission onInstagram, joking, “It was love at first hot wing 🤪— this was too kind @seanseaevans 🫶🏾.”

After Evans' revealed his crush, lots of viewers returned to hisHot Onesepisodes with Palmer to confirm their chemistry — and were not disappointed.

“Who’s all here after hearing he has a crush on her?” one user wrote of the 2017 interview, while a comment on the newer episode said, “Here after Sean said he had a crush on Keke and I agree, she is charming.”

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Also during her conversation with PEOPLE, Palmeropened up about her life as a working mom to her 1-year-old son Leo, stating that she tries “to bring him every-single-where I go.”

Keke Palmer.Amy Sussman/Getty

Amy Sussman/Getty

The actress also said that as the toddler — whom she shares with exDarius Jackson— grows up, she wants to “maintain” that “closeness.”

“The grace of a career like mine — and, obviously, his age — is just that he can be with me,” Palmer explains. “So I’m grateful for that. I think I wanna just continue to be able to just do that and have him with me and do things together and make sure that he feels part of my life and sees what I’m doing.”

“I’m working, but you know, you’re here and we’re here together and just to serve as an example for him, that’s just important for me,” she adds.

source: people.com