Who Is Keegan-Michael Key's Wife? Producer Allegedly the Reason Key and Peele No Longer Work Together

Key & Peele fans have long wondered why Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele stopped working together, and a story from comedian Akilah Hughes may have offered an explanation.

In her latest comedy set, Hughes shared a story about her attempts to launch her own sketch comedy show, and how it connects to the split between Key and Peele.

She used the code name 'Lock and Banana,' which many quickly understood as 'Key and Peele.' In her story, she implied that Elle Key, the wife of Keegan-Michael Key, negatively affected her husband's career because of her alleged behaviour.

Who Is Elle Key?

Elle Key (née Elisa Pugliese) is a writer, producer, and director. She married Keegan-Michael Key in 2018 in an intimate wedding in her hometown of New York City attended by friends and family.

Elle has produced films including Boy Meets Girl, Better Off Single, and This American Journey. She has also collaborated with her husband on several projects, including Brain Games and Game On!.

She directed and produced The History of Sketch Comedy, an Audible podcast performed by her husband. The couple co-wrote the podcast, 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, which was released in October 2023.

Elle is also an NFL fan, although she and her husband support different teams. Elle roots for the New York Giants, while Key supports the Detroit Lions.

What Happened to Key and Peele?

In her latest comedy set, Hughes recalled being offered an opportunity to create a sketch comedy show years ago. She said she was advised to work with 'the less successful half of a comedy duo that was prolific in the 2010s,' referring to the pair as 'Lock and Banana.' Many quickly interpreted the codename as a reference to Key and Peele.

According to Hughes, she had an agreement with 'Lock,' who was supposed to mention the name of her show during a Saturday Night Live appearance, but didn't do so. Instead, his closing remarks focused on thanking his wife, who became an executive producer for her show. Hughes said she initially let the issue go and later secured a deal with a studio she referred to as 'Vermin.'

Hughes then revealed that she soon received a call from 'Banana's' wife, with the latter saying that she wished someone had 'warned' her.

'I'm just calling you because I wish someone would have warned me,' Banana's wife allegedly said. Hughes also claimed Banana's wife compared Lock's wife to Brynn Hartman, wife of Phil Hartman (in 1998, Brynn shot Phil in his sleep), 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.' Hughes added that Lock's wife threatened to sue because people did not find her ideas funny. Lock and his wife were eventually written off, but the show was ultimately cancelled.

In a report from TMZ, 'multiple sources connected to KMK and Elle' called Hughes' story 'outlandish and fabricated.'

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.'

She also wrote on Facebook, 'After a couple of years I decided it was time to air it all out. This is the hottest celeb gossip I've ever been part of. @deuxmoi even makes an appearance. [Banana] once said his Oscar-winning film was a documentary. And I tend to agree.'