Keke Palmer Felt “Trapped” During Low Point of Nickelodeon Fame

There was one moment during Keke Palmer‘s time at Nickelodeon that had her saying Nope.

The actress recently recalled the overwhelming experience she had on a week-long cruise in 2009, just a year after rising to fame on the show True Jackson, VP. As she explained, Nickelodeon paid for the vacation for Keke and her family under the condition that the then-child star spend a few hours signing autographs.

“I felt like I was walking around in a SpongeBob suit that I couldn’t take off. I was trapped,” Keke told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Nov. 16. “I couldn’t leave my room without someone coming up to me calling me ‘True Jackson.'”

She added, “What you are, to everyone, is just a character…just part of their experience.”

Keke shared that she eventually fainted from anxiety during the trip.

Following her time on True Jackson, VP—which ended in 2011 when Keke turned 18 years old—the Nope star actress revealed she took efforts to build a public persona to withstand the effects of fame.