Fans are fed up with the continuous controversial and generally negative comments that have come out of actress Raven-Symoné's mouth this year. The outspoken co-host of The View rubbed people the wrong way after she voiced her opinion about a South Carolina resource officer who slammed a female student to the ground. Her most recent comments might have been the last straw for viewers, because there is currently a petition with over 120,000 signatures urging her to quit the show. Despite the outpour of people asking her to step down, ABC seems to feel the complete opposite.
On Monday (Oct. 26), a video went viral of Spring Valley High School's resource officer Sr. Deputy Ben Fields attempting to remove a disruptive female student from the classroom. The video shows Fields initially asking the 16-year-old black student to get up from her desk, but she didn't budge. Fields grabbed the student, which some say caused her and the desk to flip over. He then proceeded to drag her toward the door and restrain her on the floor.
The video garnered so much attention that it ultimately became a hot topic of discussion on The View. The 29-year-old former child star shared her feelings toward the confrontational incident, admitting both parties involved in the video were in the wrong. Raven stated the officer's actions were out of line and disagreed with the female student not following the rules.
"The girl was told multiple times to get off the phone," Raven said during the segment. "There's no right or reason for him to be doing this type of harm - that's ridiculous - but at the same time, you gotta follow the rules in school. First of all, why are there cellphones in school? This shouldn't even be a problem to begin with, and he shouldn't have been acting like that on top of it."
A petition surfaced on Thursday (Oct. 29), seeking signatures to encourage ABC to remove Raven from the daytime talk show. The creator of the petition stated people of color, especially African Americans need a more positive representation for the black community instead of Raven "spouting her ignorant and self hating spiel."
ABC recently released a statement revealing they have no intention of firing her and love having her on the show. Despite the negative attention that surrounds Raven, the network admitted their appreciation for having such a vocal person on their staff.
The That's So Raven star has caused quite a stir since joining the show. Her past opinions surrounding reverse racism, identity labels, and "ghetto names" are just a few of the statements that caused so much backlash.
"We love Raven," the network said in a statement, according to Us Weekly. "She is confident, genuine and opinionated, all qualities that make her a great addition to the panel."
