Keke Palmer recalls racist remark from white costar on “Scream Queens”, clash with co-creator Ryan Murphy

The actress claims Murphy "ripped" into her over scheduling conflict: “It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office," she says of her interaction.

It appears all the murders on Scream Queens could not rival the terrors Keke Palmer experienced on the set of the Fox series.

Palmer, who played Zayday Williams on the horror comedy from Ryan Murphy, opens up about her time on the show in her forthcoming memoir Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative (out Nov. 19), claiming that an unnamed white costar — whom she refers to as "Brenda" — once made a racist remark to her on set.

Related: The 15 best Keke Palmer movies and TV shows, ranked

The actress, host, and singer reflects on that moment and more in a recent conversation with the Los Angeles Times ahead of the release of her memoir. The remark came after Palmer tried to calm down "Brenda," who was clashing with another worker, by proposing that everyone “have fun and respect each other.” "Brenda" said in response: “Keke, literally, just don’t. Who do you think you are? Martin f---ing Luther King?”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

“It was such a weighted thing that she said, but I didn’t allow that weight to be projected on me, because I know who I am,” Palmer recalled to the newspaper, noting that she declined to name the co-worker to not give the remark any power. “I’m no victim. That’s not my storyline, sweetie. I don’t care what her ass said. If I allow what she said to cripple me, then she would.”

Palmer also alleges that Murphy, who co-created the series with frequent collaborators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, once "ripped" into her and called her unprofessional following a scheduling conflict. According to Palmer, she had been given her filming schedule and arranged to fulfill another work obligation on her day off. When production informed her that she would be needed on set after all, Palmer kept her prior obligation — and claims it led to an angry phone call with Murphy.

“It was kind of like I was in the dean’s office,” she said. “He was like, ‘I’ve never seen you behave like this. I can’t believe that you, out of all people, would do something like this.’"

Related: Keke Palmer's mom thought Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon sets felt 'weird' and 'cultish'

Palmer said she apologized and thought the situation had defused — but a few days later, a costar indicated otherwise. “I said, ‘Ryan talked to me and I guess he’s cool, it’s fine,’ and she was like, ‘It’s bad,’ trying to make me scared or something, which was a little irritating," recalled Palmer.

The Nope star believes the incident squashed the possibility to become a frequent Murphy collaborator. (The TV creator has a penchant for casting the same rotation of actresses in his projects.) “I’m still not sure Ryan cared, or got it, and that’s okay because he was just centering his business, which isn’t a problem to me,” Palmer writes in her memoir, per the L.A. Times. “But what I do know is even if he didn’t care, and even if I never work with him again, he knows that I, too, see myself as a business.”

A rep for Murphy didn't immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.

Scream Queens, which debuted in 2015 and ran for two seasons, centered on a university sorority rocked by a string of murders. The slasher satire starred Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Niecy Nash, and a pre-blockbuster-star Glen Powell.