Keke Palmer Criticized Over Comments About EBT Cards and Healthy Food

Keke Palmer is being widely and passionately criticized for sharing a fairly Republican-sounding take on EBT cards.

Early Monday morning, Palmer decided now was the time to seemingly ignore the existence of food deserts.

“Imagine if your EBT card could only work on healthy items,” Palmer said in the tweet receiving the most attention.

Prior to sharing this take, Palmer had been replying to fans amid a discussion on the pumped-up cost of healthier foods. The eventual “imagine if” tweet, however, has been panned for appearing to miss multiple points including the difficulty of eating healthy in food-sparse regions, the unavailability of healthier alternatives in many of those same regions, and the aforementioned (and often massive) cost difference.

Later, Palmer tagged Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in a tweet stating that “EBT cards should swipe free on all items considered healthy.”

The Hustlers star continued to engage with fans, saying she was calling for healthy foods to not count against an EBT balance, though many have argued that other tweets have actually seen her doubling down on the widely criticized “imagine if” proposal:

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Over on Instagram, Palmer shared a screenshot of the tweet in question alongside a lengthier statement beginning with “I’m just here for the comments.” In the statement, Palmer noted that she’s been “eating extremely healthy” as of late and has been “sad” about the hit her “debit card balance” has taken as a result.

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