People Are Reexamining Controversial Age Gaps Between Actors In Childhood Films After Keke Palmer Recalled Feeling "Scared" To Kiss 17-Year-Old Corbin Bleu At Age 12

A couple of weeks ago, Keke Palmer recalled feeling “scared” before her first-ever kiss, which happened onscreen in the Disney movie Jump In!

Keke Palmer and Corbin Bleu in the 2007 Disney movie "Jump In!"
Disney+

Keke was 12 when she played Mary Thomas in the film, and she had to kiss leading actor Corbin Bleu, who was 17.

Keke Palmer and Corbin Bleu standing next to each other in the 2007 Disney movie "Jump In!"
Disney+

Describing the kiss as “very weird,” Keke told Club Shay Shay podcast host Shannon Sharpe that she expressed her discomfort beforehand to her agent at the time.

“I remember I had a call with my agent, and I was like, ‘I’m scared about this. This is weird.’ She was like, ‘You know, Meagan Good had to kiss Samuel L. Jackson in Eve’s Bayou. So,’” Keke recalled.

Meagan was 14 when she filmed Eve’s Bayou, while Samuel was in his 40s.

Keke’s comments wound up reminding internet users of several other controversial age gaps between costars in various movies and TV shows that we watched growing up.

Keke Palmer posing outdoors
Aeon / GC Images

A viral video with over 5 million views posted by TikTok user @aleszkof has received multiple comments from other internet users reexamining age gaps between actors.

Firstly, Hilary Duff was 15 when she filmed A Cinderella Story, while her onscreen love interest Chad Michael Murray was 22.

Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff kiss passionately in a scene from "A Cinderella Story"
Prime Video

Four years later, Selena Gomez was 16 when she played the love interest of 26-year-old Drew Seeley in the standalone sequel, Another Cinderella Story.

Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley smiling and embracing
Bruce Glikas / FilmMagic

Coco Jones was just 14 when she starred in the Disney musical Let It Shine in 2012 alongside Tyler James Williams, who was 19.

Tyler James Williams and Coco Jones pose together at a Disney Channel event
Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

Boy Meets World actors Trina McGee and Rider Strong were around 28 and 17, respectively, when they played Angela and Shawn in the sitcom.

Rider Strong and Trina McGee in a scene from "Boy Meets World" holding hands
Abc Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Danielle Campbell was 14 when she started filming the Disney movie StarStruck alongside Sterling Knight, who was 20.

Sterling Knight and Danielle Campbell taking a selfie with the Hollywood sign in the background in a scene from "StarStruck"
Craig Sjodin / Disney Channel via Getty Images

Keira Knightley was 17 when she filmed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl alongside Johnny Depp, who was 39.

Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp in a scene from "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
Disney+

Away from Disney projects, Keira was 20 when she starred in Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice, while Matthew Macfadyen was 31.

Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen stand closely, almost kissing, in a scene from "Pride and Prejudice"
Focus Features / Via youtube.com

Ashton Kutcher was 20 when he appeared in That ‘70s Show, while Mila Kunis — whom he is now married to — was 15.

Young Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis smiling
Chris Weeks / Getty Images

Ashton previously told Howard Stern that he found his first kissing scene with Mila — who lied about her age to get the role — “really weird.” He recalled thinking, “Isn't this illegal? Like, am I allowed?”

Shay Mitchell was 21 and Sasha Pieterse was 14 when they started filming Pretty Little Liars.

Sasha Pieterse and Shay Mitchell in a scene from "Pretty Little Liars"
Eric Mccandless / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

And finally, more recently, Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was 18 when the Netflix show premiered, while her onscreen love interest Darren Barnet was 29.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Darren Barnet pose together on a red carpet
Alexandre Schneider / Getty Images for NETFLIX

Yikes. Can you think of any other controversial age gaps between costars? Let us know in the comments.

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