10 Photos of Keegan-Michael Key's Wife, Elle Key: About the Producer and the Key and Peele Issue

Comedian Akilah Hughes recently claimed she knows why Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele no longer work together.

On X, Hughes wrote 'If you've ever wondered why K** and P*el* don't work together anymore, well, watch the next video in this thread.'

In her recent comedy set, posted on YouTube, Hughes discussed her attempts to launch her own sketch comedy show, and how it connects to Key and Peele. She referred to the duo as 'Lock and Banana', which many understood as 'Key and Peele'.

In her story, she implied that Keegan-Michael's wife 'ruined' his career because of her alleged behaviour.

Who Is Elle Key? About Keegan-Michael Key's Wife

Elle (née Elisa Pugliese) is a writer, producer, and director in the entertainment industry. She became engaged to Keegan-Michael Key in 2017, and the couple married after a seven-month engagement in her hometown of New York City.

Elle has served as a producer in various films, including Boy Meets Girl (2014), Better Off Single (2016), and This American Journey (2013), as well as television shows, such as Brain Games and Game On!.

She and Keegan-Michael created the podcast The History of Sketch Comedy, which won the 2022 People's Voice Award for Best Writing at the Webby Awards.

The couple later turned the podcast into a book titled The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor, published in 2023.

Talking about the book, Elle said, 'The idea for a book came to us many years ago when we first became partners. It was our love of comedy that helped bring us together. These pages reflect our joint passion for making others — and ourselves! — laugh.'

Elle is also a sports fan. Like her husband, she follows the NFL, though they support different teams. She roots for the New York Giants, while Keegan-Michael supports the Detroit Lions.

Keegan-Michael also shared, 'Because we are both big sports fans, an ideal day off is for us to go someplace to witness athletics, a football game, a baseball game.'

The Key and Peele Issue, Explained

Hughes recalled being offered an opportunity to create a sketch comedy show. She said was advised to collaborate with 'the less successful half of a comedy duo that was prominent in the 2010s.' She used the codename 'Lock and Banana,' which many understood as 'Key and Peele.'

According to Hughes, she had an agreement with 'Lock,' who was supposed to mention the name of the show during a Saturday Night Live appearance. Lock didn't do so, but instead, his closing remarks focused on thanking his wife, who later became an executive producer for her show.

Hughes described Lock's wife as 'a weird main character in this whole story' and shared that she and her agent talked about her alleged bad reputation in the industry.

Hughes said she decided to let the matter pass, and later got a deal with a studio she referred to as 'Vermin'. She also claimed she later received a call from 'Banana's' wife, who allegedly said she wished someone had 'warned' her.

'I just had dinner with Lock and his wife, they say they're doing a show with you... I'm just calling you because I wish someone would have warned me,' Hughes recalled Banana's wife allegedly saying.

Hughes also claimed Banana's wife compared Lock's wife to Phil Hartman's wife (in 1998, Brynn fatally shot Phil Hartman), and that she wouldn't trust her to hold a baby. Banana's wife also allegedly said, 'There's no accounting for how much money she's cost that Black man.'

According to TMZ, 'multiple sources connected to KMK and Elle' called the story 'outlandish and fabricated'.