Everything we know about Keke Palmer's boyfriend Darius Jackson and their on-again, off-again relationship

• Keke Palmer's boyfriend Darius Jackson came under fire in July for comments he made about her outfit.
• Palmer and Jackson have been together on and off since 2021, but their relationship status is now unclear.
• In 2023, the two welcomed their first child, son Leodis Jackson, together.

Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson welcomed a child together earlier this year, but the comments by Jackson about Palmer's outfit choices have caused many to speculate about the nature of their relationship. 

Jackson and Palmer reportedly first met in 2021 and seem to have had a tumultuous on-again/off-again relationship since then. Keep reading for more details about Jackson, his relationship with Palmer, and the most recent drama surrounding them.

Who is Darius Jackson?

According to Elle's Aimée Lutkin, Jackson is the brother of "Insecure" actor Sarunas Jackson. Sarunas, per IMDB, appeared on nine episodes of the HBO show from 2017 to 2021, playing Alejandro "Dro" Peña. He's also had roles on "Good Trouble" and "Made for Love." 

Darius is also reportedly an aspiring actor who's also worked as a fitness trainer. He and Palmer were introduced in 2021, after the "Nope" star had a cameo on "Insecure," Lutkin reported. 

Darius Jackson and Keke Palmer have been dating on and off since 2021 and welcomed a baby in 2023

The pair appear to have been in an on-again, off-again relationship since they first met in 2021, with both Palmer and Jackson deleting romantic Instagram posts about the other (shared shorty after they met) in March 2022, per Lutkin.

In one of the since-deleted posts, from August 2021, Jackson praised Palmer on her birthday while also announcing their relationship. "Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are. I'm glad we were able to help each other throughout our lowest of times & show one another that what we are bringing to the table is everything that we got," he wrote in the caption, per People.

Later that year, Palmer spoke about her decision to go public with the relationship, despite being a private person.

"It became more difficult to hide. We spend all this time together, and he really is my closest friend, so it just becomes a thing where I'm not gonna hide something that makes me happy," she told Tamron Hall during an appearance on the host's talk show in November 2021. 

Palmer continued to gush about Jackson in a profile by Bustle's Sylvia Obell that was published in March 2022. 

"This is the happiest I've ever felt with someone. So why would I go out of my way to hide this person? That's a lot more work than just living in my life and being in my life," she told Obell. 

In December 2022, Palmer revealed her pregnancy while hosting an episode of "Saturday Night Live," telling audience members in her opening monologue: "People have been in my comments saying 'Keke's having a baby, Keke's pregnant.' "And I want to set the record straight — I am!" 

The star then opened her coat to reveal her baby bump, to cheers and applause from the audience. "This has been the biggest blessing and I am so excited," she added. 

While Palmer didn't initially confirm that Jackson was her baby's father, Palmer later mentioned him when she spoke about the early stages of her pregnancy during a February 2023 episode of her podcast "Baby, This Is Keke Palmer."

Per the "Hustlers" star, she found out she was pregnant after Jackson discovered a positive test in their trash. Palmer said she had taken the test after "randomly thinking" she could be expecting, but apparently didn't wait long enough for the result, and mistakenly assumed she wasn't pregnant. (Jackson, for his part, clarified on the podcast that he wasn't looking through the trash for the test, but rather found the positive result after Palmer threw it away.) 

Palmer and Jackson welcomed son Leodis Andrellton Jackson sometime in late February 2023, announcing the baby's name and sharing photos of the newborn on Instagram a couple days after the birth. 

In June, Palmer paid tribute to Jackson with a sweet Instagram post for his first Father's Day, calling him the "best dad ever." 

"Leodis and I are so very happy to have such a fun, kind, responsible, dependable and supportive man like you in our lives. It's so wonderful to see the kind of loving father you are, but I'm not surprised," Palmer wrote at the time, adding: "God bless you darling, thank you for being in our lives. WE LOVE YOU!" 

Jackson came under fire for comments about Palmer's clothing

The controversy involving the father of Palmer's child began on Twitter in early July, after Jackson reacted to a clip of Palmer being serenaded by Usher at a recent Las Vegas concert. 

In the clip, Palmer was seen wearing a black bodysuit with a sheer black dress over top. 

"It's the outfit tho.. you a mom," he tweeted in response to the video. Jackson later doubled down on his comments as online criticism of him mounted, writing: "We live in a generation where a man of the family doesn't want the wife & mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others & he gets told how much of a hater he is. This is my family & my representation. I have standards & morals to what I believe. I rest my case." 

Palmer, for her part, didn't directly weigh in on the comments, instead sharing more photos of herself in the outfit to Instagram on Wednesday evening.

"I wish I had taken more pictures," she wrote in part in the caption. 

Palmer also released "I'm a motha" merchandise online following Jackson's comments. 

"To all my mom's out there, how did your baby change you?? Mine empowered me!" she wrote on Instagram. "On such another level, my perspective changed because when my baby is good I'm GREAT! Look at that face! Gratitude galore."

At the time, Jackson's social media accounts appeared to have been deleted or disabled. Representatives for Palmer and Jackson did not immediately respond to Insider's previous requests for comment on the controversy.

Palmer seemingly references Jackson's comments in Usher's music video for 'Boyfriend'

In Usher's latest music video, released on Wednesday, Palmer is seen wearing a white bathrobe and getting glammed up for a night out with friends. Later in the video, Palmer and Usher bump into each other at a casino, wearing the same outfit. 

In a plot twist, at the end of the music video, it's revealed that Palmer actually overslept and missed out on the fun.

"Dammit, I missed the show," she says after answering her ringing phone.

"Shit, I'm so tired. I'm a mother after all," Palmer adds, knowingly winking at the camera. 

Given Palmer's dig at Jackson, it's unclear if they're still together. According to People magazine, he has "moved on" but is still co-parenting with the star.