Actress Raven-Symoné has been taking a lot of heat for the controversial comments she made on The View regarding her stance on hiring someone with a "ghetto name." The backlash for her outlandish comments continues to haunt her career, but before anymore assumptions could be placed upon her, Raven decided to speak up. On Sunday night (Oct. 11), Raven took to her personal Facebook account to open up about her remarks stating, "I Have Never Discriminated Against a Name."
The 29-year-old former child star broke her silence after being bombarded with negative responses from fans on social media, a petition began circulating to get her fired from The View, celebrities attacking her support for minorities with a focus on the African-American community, and her own father stating she says "dumb s**t."
In Raven's open letter, she addresses the impact her comments had and ultimately how much they've swayed the way people view her. She admitted her comments were not an honest representation of her true feelings towards racial discrimination and recounted personal experiences where employers rejected her based off her physical appearance.
"I'd like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a specific race," Raven wrote on her Facebook page. "But repeating a name that was said in a viral video which has received over 2 million likes. I have been denied many jobs because of my skin color, body size, and age. Each time I was rejected, my self esteem was negatively effected, so i empathize with those who feel victimized by what I said."
Raven stated she wouldn't hire anyone with a name stated on that list, referring to a viral video of two boys listing the most "ghetto names" in history. The names were obviously fictitious and meant for a laugh, but when the actress was questioned about discriminating against someone based off of their "Africanized" name, viewers expected her to take it seriously.
She went on to explain the ramifications of placing judgement on people based off factors they cannot control, instead of getting to know them for the person they truly are. Despite the recently published study from the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior discussed on the show, discrimination in the work place is nothing new.
My comments about discrimination have spun out of control. I'd like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a...
Posted by Raven-Symoné on Sunday, October 11, 2015
"We would hope that when it comes to hiring, our names, physical appearance, sexual orientation, and age would never outweigh our qualifications, but often times, they do, that's the truth and it sucks. But I should not be part of the problem, I should be part of the solution."
Raven concluded her letter by backtracking on her controversial statements and admitting the distasteful connotations they projected.
"I have never discriminated against a name....even though I said I would, it's not true. My comment was in poor taste. My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for."
