Raven-Symoné has opened up and gone into detail about a statement she made on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2014.
Raven-Symoné stated on Tuesday, April 2, that she was particularly alluding to the statement she made to Winfrey that she is “an American, I’m not an African-American” in a recent Tea Time with Raven and Miranda segment with her wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday.
Raven claimed that people misinterpreting her remarks and not hearing them was the cause of the negative feedback she received on social media.
She started, “I want to talk about something that has been bothering me since 2014.” I had the impression that the internet had exploded and thrown my name into the trash when that aired. People in my community and others who misinterpreted or didn’t hear what I said caused a great deal of backlash.”
“…how much blood, sweat, and tears they’ve soaked into this earth to create the America that I live in today: free, happy, tax-paying, American citizen,” she expressed her gratitude for her ancestors’ sacrifices in allowing her to live the life she does.
Related stories
The Raven’s Home actress went on to say that whenever she travels to other nations, people usually say, “There’s an American, plain and simple,” rather than, “Look at that African-American over there.”
The actress remembered that she “felt attacked” after witnessing how the public responded to her remark.
She stated, “I felt judged and not heard,” noting that she is not an American of the first or second generation. “Cease mislabeling us,” she uttered.
The actor added that younger generations are “starting to break down those barriers of labeling,” which suggests that more people are beginning to understand her point of view.
At the time of the interview, Raven-Symoné’s mom assumed that Winfrey had somehow set her up to receive backlash because of how quickly the talk show host had reacted to her comments instead of letting her finish her statement.
She remembered feeling as though she had “said something bad, which contradicts who I am as a human” as she left the stage following the interview.
Although the actress doesn’t believe she was “set up,” she did feel the host brought attention to her comments so that “people could scrutinize more.”
What started out as an interview about Raven-Symoné’s coming-out was quickly transformed into an interview about labels. During the interview, the former Cheetah Girls member also expressed to Winfrey her desire to avoid being classified as gay.
