Raven Symone is remembered for her work as a tot on The Cosby Show and Disney Channel lovers no doubt remember her hit That's So Raven that aired about a decade ago. While the 28-year old stays busy in Hollywood it is often her personal life that seems to get the most coverage in the press. She recently sat for an interview with Oprah Winfrey with the hopes of explaining to her fans exactly who she is, minus the labels.
Winfrey asked Raven about an infamous tweet that seemed to be her way of coming out to the world about a year ago and she admitted knowing she was attracted to women at a young age saying,
"I knew when I was, like, 12, I was looking at everything. I don't want to be labeled 'gay.' I want to be labeled 'a human who loves humans. I'm tired of being labeled."
She takes that tiredness a step further by insisting that she is simply an American, not an African-American. Winfrey warned Raven of the potential backlash that will inevitably come from making a statement like that but she was undaunted in her beliefs saying,
"I'm an American. I'm not an African American; I'm an American. I mean, I don't know where my roots go to, I don't know how far back they go...I don't know what country in Africa I'm from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I'm an American. And that's a colorless person."
What is a little bit ironic in this interview is that while speaking out against labels, Raven actually does label herself an American. It's interesting how when some words are seen in a positive light then they are just descriptive but when there is a negative connotation we view them as labels. Take a minute and watch Raven's interview below and tell us your thoughts. Does she make her point graciously or is she contradicting herself?
