Keke Palmer Says She Loves Being a Mom: ‘It Just Gave Me a Sense of Freedom’

"It is a blessing beyond a blessing," the actress said of being a mother to her 4-month-old son Leo

Motherhood is everything to Keke Palmer.

The actress, 29, opened up about being a mom during her Keke Palmer: "Big Boss: Empowering Yourself to Create the Life You Want” event in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

Speaking on stage at the Howard Theatre, Palmer revealed how becoming a mother to her 4-month-old son Leo — whom she shares with Darius Jackson — gave her a “sense of freedom” and boosted her confidence.

“I was really always preoccupied on the low key of my body and then after I had a baby, it kind of freed me in a way where I just didn't care as much and so the fact that I didn’t care, it made me just have an ease and a comfortability and a love for myself in a way that I didn't have before,” she said. “And it just gave me a sense of freedom that I can't describe, where I'm not afraid, because it's like, this is what I have, this is who I am.”

Palmer continued, “I never would have imagined that my son would have given me such a deep confidence and empowerment to just really be like, ‘Yo, we about to do this.' "

Related: Keke Palmer Says She Feels 'Powerful' as a Mom as Darius Jackson Posts Solo Travels with Son Leo

And it made me feel so strong because after having a baby you are kind of beat down a little bit,” she said. “But with the love that I feel at home I just say, ‘girl, we about to make this work.’ It transformed me into someone else.”

The Scream Queens star went on to reveal that she loves being a mother so much that she’s “probably going to have about 12 kids.”

“It's so exceptional, she said. “I mean, for anybody that doesn't want it your life is fabulous if that's not what you want and if you do want it, get ready for a ride because it is a blessing beyond a blessing. I'm probably going to have about 12 kids, don't play with it now.”

Related: Keke Palmer Shares Solo Video with Son Leo amid Online Drama with Boyfriend Darius Jackson

Palmer also shared how would “do anything” to make her son giggle.

“I’m goofy as hell,” she said. “I'm always doing jokes, making him laugh trying to see if he has a funny sense, you know, what’s his sense of humor like. He loves when I get goofy with him. I mean I will roll up on the floor and do anything to make him laugh.”

On Father's Day in June, Palmer also praised Jackson for how he parents their baby boy.

Calling the fitness instructor “the best dad ever”, Palmer wrote on Instagram, “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.”

However, Jackson received backlash online soon after, when he called out the Nope actress for wearing a fitted, black bodysuit under a sheer dress to watch Usher perform during his Las Vegas Residency on July 5.

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Quoting a tweeted a video of Palmer being serenaded by the "Burn" singer, 44, Jackson wrote, "It's the outfit tho.. you a mom."

After being hit with a series of negative responses to his comment, Jackson wrote in a tweet, "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."

The following day the fitness instructor appeared to say goodbye to his Twitter account before he quietly returned to the platform on Friday last week. But followers noticed that on Instagram, posts featuring Palmer, also 29, seemed to be missing. The new parents are no longer following each other on that platform, either.

Palmer seemingly responded to the public drama in a video with son Leo on Instagram. "One thing is certain and one thing is true, IM A MOTHA, through and through! 😍," she captioned the post, which saw her singing Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” and replacing the lyrics to suit her son, who she bounced on her knee. 

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