Sarunas Jackson Defends Brother Darius Jackson After Keke Palmer Accuses Him of Abuse

The Gist:

• Keke Palmer's baby's father, Darius Daulton Jackson, is the younger brother of 'Insecure' actor Sarunas Jackson
• Sarunas has discussed Keke and Darius's relationship several times, including Keke filing a restraining order against Darius in November 2023.
• Sarunas and Keke's mother, Sharon Palmer, engaged in a social media feud amid claims Darius abused the 'Nope' actor.

Typically, the best way to avoid getting involved in a firestorm on the internet is to keep your mouth shut. Those who post often sometimes end up regretting it. At times, keeping your mouth shut isn't actually enough. That's definitely the case for Darius Daulton Jackson's brother Sarunas, who is involved in a controversy created by others.

After Sarunas's name started circulating online, though, many wanted to learn more about the controversy in general, and about who Sarunas is in particular. Keep reading for all of the details.

Sarunas Jackson is an actor who was born in Philadelphia but spent most of his childhood in Los Angeles. He's best known for playing Alejandro 'Dro' Peña on Insecure, but he has also had roles on Made for Love and Chi-Raq. Sarunas was a college basketball player, and while he initially wanted to enter the 2013 NBA draft, he decided to pursue a career as an actor instead.

Sarunas's name is circulating online because of something his brother Darius did. In November 2023, Keke issued a restraining order against Darius, whom she had been dating since August 2021.

Keke stated in court documents that the couple officially broke up in October 2023 after Darius was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive on various occasions during their relationship, including an altercation that allegedly occurred between them on Nov. 5, 2023. Keke claimed that during their blowup, Darius “trespassed into my home without my knowledge or consent” and “threatened” her before “lunging for my neck, striking me, throwing me over the couch and stealing my phone,” per Us Weekly.

Keke’s public allegations of Darius made waves on social media, with many threatening to harm Darius on Keke’s behalf. Amid the reactions, Sarunas stepped in to defend his brother and accused Keke of being the abusive one in their relationship.

“Abuses almost everyone,” Sarunas said of Keke on X, formerly Twitter, before deleting the tweet. “Y’all will see. Just send positive energy to the babies. Any child in the middle of something like this does not deserve it AT ALL. Wow. So d--n sad.”

“I went to Sarunas over a year ago and told him that his brother was abusive to my daughter, and he said, ‘Well, I used to be like that too,'” Sharon alleged in November 2023. “So now he’s posting on Twitter like he’s this special guy when we know he’s the biggest f–boy in Hollywood; he’s disrespectful to women just like his brother.”

Keke, who has been silent about the restraining order, didn’t address Sarunas’s claims publicly. However, her mother, Sharon Palmer, discussed the allegations on Instagram. In a rare statement from Keke’s momager, Sharon claimed Sarunas knew of the abuse between Darius and Keke “over a year” before it surfaced in the news. Sharon also said Sarunas admitted to being abusive himself in his previous relationships and “taught him [Darius] how to be abusive.”

Sarunas denied Sharon’s allegations in a comment on The ShadeRoom after the outlet posted Sharon’s video. He said he “NEVER ONCE” told Sharon he nor Darius and has “never been abusive to any of the women I’ve been with.” Sarunas also accused Keke’s mom of sending various “threats” to his family, which he promised would come to light “very soon.”

This isn't the first time Sarunas has spoken out about his brother, Darius, and Keke's relationship. In July 2023, Darius, who is the father of Keke Palmer's child, recently commented on a video of Keke dancing with Usher at his Las Vegas show. Usher was singing "There Goes My Baby," and Keke was wearing a sheer black dress over a black bodysuit. Darius apparently disapproved of the outfit, and felt the need to make that clear.

Following Darius's comment, many Twitter users were aghast, pointing out that there's nothing inappropriate about Keke's outfit, and she actually looks great in it. As users started to pile on to Darius, many wondered who he was, which is how Sarunas's name got involved.

Even as Darius came under fire online for his critical comments about Keke, many were eager to remind those piling on that Sarunas had done nothing to deserve any of the fire aimed at him. Darius may be his brother, but that doesn't mean he can control how Darius behaves.

In the aftermath of the blowback, Sarunas caught plenty of flack for reasons that seem to have little to do with anything he actually did.

In a series of posts on his Twitter page on July 5, 2023, Sarunas acknowledged all the hate he was getting because of his brother's actions. He pointed out that the two of them are different people.

"Damn, we not the same man lol ... I literally haven’t been having sex and been inside ... why am I catching strays?" Sarunas wrote on Twitter.

Clearly, Sarunas feels like the hate he's receiving isn't warranted, and given the fact that the incident doesn't involve him at all, it's easy to see why he might be upset. Thankfully, it seems like Sarunas is taking it all in stride, and doing his best not to let the hate get to him.