Keke Palmer was destined for Hollywood, but when she was a child, she was given much-needed advice from Ice Cube on how to “protect” herself from opportunistic industry men.

Palmer, who starred opposite Cube in 2008 sports comedy The Longshots, appeared on the latest episode of Club Shay Shay, where she reflected on her chat with the rapper-actor around the 54-minute mark of the video.

“I was on the set of The Long Shots with Ice Cube. He was very cool, very chill,” Palmer, who recently released her memoir Master of Me, began. “He didn’t say too much–a man of few words. But very nice and one day they were like, ‘Ice Cube wants to speak to you,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay…’”

Palmer continued by sharing that she initially thought the conversation would be more serious than what it turned out to be. “So they call me into a room and he’s like, way far, distant from me and it’s some bodyguards there,” she continued. “And I’m [thinking], ‘What we about to talk about?’ You know? And he’s like, ‘I just want to tell you, Keke. You’re a beautiful young lady, and I see how kind you are and how nice you are to everybody on the set.'”

“‘But I want you to know you’re growing into a young woman, and a lot of times the way that people see you–the way that these men see you on set–it’s not the way you see yourself,’” Palmer recalled. “'So protect yourself, be careful and don’t let them take advantage of you. Know who you are and know what you have, so people can’t use it against you.'”

Palmer concluded that she “didn’t understand” Cube’s warning at the time being 14, but that it “stuck with” her. 

“And it was so important for him to say to me. He’s a father; he’s someone who has seen a lot in this industry, especially with young entertainers,” she said about the Man Down rapper. “I always remember that, and I was always so grateful to him for that. I haven’t seen him since but I would love to tell him that really stuck with me all these years, and thank you for reminding me.”

Palmer, who previously discussed her behind-the scenes-moment with Cube on a 2021 episode of game show Celebrity Game Face, has mostly strayed from dating men in entertainment and shares a 1-year-old son with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson. In Master of Me, Palmer opened up about her breakup with Jackson being the “hardest” situation she’s ever had to go through, but that it was for the benefit of their son, Leodis.

“I wish I could say he was terrible the entire time or that I was,” Palmer wrote about their relationship. “But it wasn’t that black-and-white, and that was the problem. I didn’t want my son to think his father is a monster because I don’t.”