Raven Symone was severely dissed on Twitter after revealing that she'd discriminate against someone with a "ghetto" name if she were a hiring manager on an episode of The View that aired yesterday (Oct. 8).
Us Magazine reported that the conversation came about when the hosts were mulling over a new study that was printed in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior that addressed hiring practices, but tried to specify that she is "discriminatory" and not "racist."
"Just to bring it back, can we take back 'racist' and say 'discriminatory' because I think that's a better word," she said on the episode, "And I am very discriminatory against words like the ones they were saying in the video. I'm not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea. It's just not going to happen. I'm not going to hire you." It was a pretty bold move for the host, as she is black and appeared on the episode with a shocking pink mowhawk.
Watch the full-size video here.
According to Us Magazine, she was immediately criticized by the other hosts, who stated that a child is obviously unable to determine their own name, and asked "Is that mean?" when there was a very strong reaction at the table.
The twitter backlash was immediate.
"What if their name was Pam Smith and then they showed up at work looking like YOU, Raven?" Tweeted Fox Sports host Mike Hill amongst other angry tweets from both celebrities and fans of the show.
What if their name was Pam Smith and then showed up at work looking like YOU, Raven? (VIDEO) https://t.co/3R3CkNf6bl
— IG: @ItsMikeHill (@ItsMikeHill) October 9, 2015
This is not the first time that the singer and actress has come under fire for on-screen commentary, and Us reported that she ran into trouble when she told Oprah Winfrey on the OWN Network Where Are They Now? series that she thinks of herself as "American" not "African American."
"Oh girl, you're going to set Twitter on fire," a dumbfounded Oprah reportedly said even back then. Fans of The View are now reportedly calling for Symone to be replaced on the show.
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