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‘The Entire Internet Exploded': Raven-Symoné Addresses 2014 Backlash Over 'African-American' Comments
On Tuesday, Raven-Symoné talked about how things spiraled and once again clarified the true intention behind her remarks on race.
Raven-Symoné was caught deep in controversy after her ‘African-American’ comments on Oprah Winfrey’s show blew up on the internet in 2014. A decade later, bits of the controversy have spiraled back to the Disney alum. In the latest episode of her podcast Tea Time With Raven and Miranda, which she hosts with her spouse Miranda Maday, revisited the nightmare of a time in her life.
On Tuesday, Symoné talked about how things spiraled and once again clarified the true intention behind her remarks on race. She attached a recent clip of another interview that referenced her 2014 remarks and didn't seem impressed.
Raven Symoné will not be silenced
In the entitled episode, “we need to talk…,” the 38-year-old actress showed a clip from Real Time With Bill Maher that discussed her 2014 remarks following a segment on actor Idris Elba’s recent comments on humans being “obsessed with race.” This encouraged Raven to reignite the topic and clear the air once again in 2024.
The Cheetah Girls star admitted that the matter has “haunted” her since 2014. After Oprah Winfrey’s controversial interview with Raven aired, she received massive flack from her community and the media. “I felt like the entire internet exploded and threw my name in the garbage. There was so much backlash from my community and others that misunderstood slash didn’t hear the exact words that I said,” the Emmy-nominated actress pointed out.
Symoné quoted herself from the 2014 interview and said, “And the exact words that I said is that, ‘I’m an American, not an African American.’” However, the world took the literal meaning of the sentence, and an uproar against her not taking pride in being “black” followed. “A lot of people thought I said that I wasn’t Black. And I never said that,” she added.
Co-host and wife, Maday asked Raven to explain what she meant by that statement. Symoné emphasized that she meant that her roots are from America as far as her family history goes. “When I say that African American does not align with me — that label – It doesn’t mean that I’m negating my Blackness or I’m not Black. It means I am from this country. I was born here. My mom, my dad, my great-great-great-great-great — that’s what I’m saying. The pure logistics of it,” the That’s So Raven star clarified.
Simultaneously, she acknowledged the hard work of her ancestors that helped transform America into a free country. Raven said, “I also understand how much blood, sweat, and tears they soaked into this earth in order to create the America that I live in today — free, happy, tax-paying American citizen.”
Raven Symoné compares public reaction then and now
Reflecting on the impact of the public reaction she had in 2014 and now in 2024, Symoné shared that she felt “attacked…judged and not heard” back then. However, the current generation and society have instilled hope in the actress as she said, “now it feels like Society has grown, there are more people that understand the root of what I’m talking about.”
”I think the younger generation are starting to break down those barriers of labeling,” she added.
In 2014, The Cosby Show alum expressed her exhaustion on being labeled which inspired her comments on race. After her statement, host Oprah Winfrey was seemingly not impressed and warned her about getting “a lot of flak” for the same.
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