Keke Palmer Gets Spicy on ‘Hot Ones,’ Plants a Kiss on Host Sean Evans

Keke Palmer is spicing things up.

During an appearance on the Sept. 15 episode of Hot Ones with Sean Evans, the multihyphenate made her move on Evans, 39. Towards the end of the episode, promoting movies The Pickup and Good Fortune, Palmer, 32, asked the host about his crush on her.

“And then there’s one more thing I’d like to say, Sean,” she began, “because I saw an interview where you said, like, I was your favorite guest, you know, and all this really sweet stuff.”

The Nope actress appeared on the show previously in 2017 and 2021, making her third appearance record-breaking, per Evans.

“And I know we’ve just had some wings, but I thought that maybe we could just have a quick smooch to see if there’s a spark.” Evans agrees, and the duo share a kiss.

“When I’m dying and my life flashes before my eyes, I’ll have that snapshot,” he said following their smooch.

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During a November 2023 episode of Chicken Shop Date with hostess Amelia Dimoldenberg, Evans was asked if he “ever had a crush on a guest.” He said yes, adding that it was a guest he and Dimoldenberg, 31, had shared.

After guessing Jennifer Lawrence, Jack Harlow and Rosalía, the Hot Ones personality revealed it to be Palmer.

“Very charming,” he said of the True Jackson, V.P. alum. “Very charming woman.”

In August 2024, Palmer told PEOPLE about her reaction to learning about Evans’ “crush.” “I was living for it,” she said, recalling her and the host’s “good chemistry” on the 2021 episode.

“Not to say that I was surprised or I wasn’t surprised,” she continued. “But when I heard it and people were sending it to me, I was like, ‘I knew the vibes were vibing.’ ”

The podcast host/singer-songwriter/actress also spoke to PEOPLE in August 2025, reflecting on her career trajectory.

“I found my voice in reinvention through social media and content creation, and ultimately becoming a producer and taking my traditional roots into something that allowed me to have a little bit more control,” she said at the time.

“That’s when we’ve seen this era where I’ve become a meme,” Palmer quipped about her Vanity Fair lie detector test, where she didn’t recognize former Vice President Dick Cheney. “And [2022’s Jordan Peele movie] Nope, and just all these things that I couldn’t have predicted.”

“I was just following my heart and my creativity. And I think having the second wave of what that is, knowing what it’s like to go through the ebbs and flows of this industry and knowing that none of the excitement always lasts forever.”

The Pick Up, starring Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Eva Longoria, Andrew Dice Clay, Marshawn Lynch and Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, is available to stream on Prime Video.

Good Fortune, also starring Aziz Ansari, Keanu Reeves, Sandra Oh and Seth Rogen premieres on Oct. 17.