Disney star Raven-Symoné may identify as a member of the LGBTQ community, but that doesn’t mean she wanted her character to reflect that in her show “Raven’s Home.”
The 36-year-old former child star is best known for starring in the series “That’s So Raven,” which aired on Disney Channel from 2003 until 2007. When Raven-Symoné, who says she’s non-binary and is married to another woman, was approached to be part of a reboot, she said producers suggested her character could also be gay.
“I think Disney wanted her to be queer in the beginning, and I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that,” she told the magazine Them in an interview.
She continued, “They were like, ‘Do you want Raven to be gay?’ I said, ‘Why?’ [And they said,] ‘Because you are.’ I said, ‘Bad, bad reason. That’s a bad reason.’ No, Raven Baxter never exhibited any type of sexual identity situation in the priors. I’m not being myself on this show; I’m being a character.”
“Raven’s Home” follows the titular character as she raises her two children following a divorce. Symone shut down any notion of a romantic relationship between Raven and her best friend Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol), who helps with the kids and lives in the same house.
“Raven Baxter’s not gay. No matter what the first four seasons looked like, with me and Chelsea sleeping in the same room and us raising a family together,” Raven-Symoné continued. “OK, that’s not the case. We are friends. Who sleep in the same room.”
It’s not just that the “Cosby Show” alum doesn’t want her character to be gay – she doesn’t think Raven should be dating at all.
“It’s so funny because we’re working on the sixth season now, and I’m talking to the EPs and they’re like, ‘And you’re gonna start dating?’” she told the publication. “I’m like, ‘She don’t need to date either. She’s just going to be nothing.’”
The former child star previously expressed surprise that Disney would hire her even though she’s openly a member of the LGBTQ community.
“I was surprised they chose me! I was like, ‘I came out, I said all kinds of stuff . . . Look at y’all!’ Thank you Disney for understanding I’m a human,” she told Hollywood Life during a podcast interview in 2017.
“So, yeah, I was pleasantly surprised, but again, as we grow and as the network grows and as humanity grows, the kids are getting smarter and smarter! You can’t lie to them. So, I give props to Disney for embracing who I am and who the kids are of today,” she said.
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