Raven-Symoné Defends Michelle Obama Race Analysis On ‘The View’
Raven-Symoné is known for occasionally causing a stir due to her opinions on race. The latest was during an appearance on The View, where Symone stuck up for the Univision host who was fired for saying that first lady Michelle Obama looked like an ape from the Planet of The Apes films.
Instead of calling it racist, like View co-host Rosie Perez, Raven-Symoné said that some people just look like animals, which infuriated a lot of people, including Perez. The two went back and forth on the topic and ignited a Twitter storm, but by now Symoné is used to this.
This time around, Raven-Symoné wanted to clarify her comments that she made on The View. According to the actress, she wasn’t defending Rodner Figueroa’s comments about Michelle Obama.
Raven-Symoné Defends Univision Host’s Offensive Comments About FLOTUS http://t.co/CHrb0F6Yqr pic.twitter.com/TdMdHxDyYG
— Global Ent. News (@GlobalEntNews) March 17, 2015
In an interview with E!, the Empire guest star said, “I don’t think I was defending. I think he got fired for a reason. It was very distasteful what he said, it was very distasteful. And I don’t believe she looks like one at all. I don’t believe she should’ve been casted, but I do know that a lot of people I know have animal traits.”
She continued by explaining that race is still a very sore topic in this country.
“I think any time something is dealing with race, that is still an open wound and you try to look at it from a different standpoint, people are gonna get mad. Especially when it’s socially out, blasted, and people don’t read the whole story. Just like a lot of my comments. People don’t read into the whole story and start making things and they say, I said this and I said this and I’m trying to be a different race, but I’m not trying to be.”
Raven even mentions her other controversial moment, which took place during an interview with Oprah, where she took heat for saying she didn’t want to be identified as an African American.
“I never said I wasn’t black. I said I wasn’t African American and to me, that’s a difference. We are a melting pot of beauty. We have to embrace the different cultures we have. And if you don’t, we’re still gonna have these problems that are blasting up everywhere.”
What do you think about Raven-Symoné’s comments on race?
[Photo by Jason Kempin / Getty Images]
