The logo for the Daily Beast's Obsessed website. It reads: 'Obsessed: What to Watch, Binge, See, & Skip'
DAILY BEAST
CrosswordNewsletters
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDB's Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      Race

      Raven-Symone: I’m ‘Not Going to Back Down’ From Comments on ‘The View’

      RACISM OR BAD TASTE?

      The actress and singer tells The Daily Beast that she stands by her defense of the Univision anchor who made a racially charged joke about the first lady.

      Kevin Fallon

      Senior Editor, Obsessed

      Updated Apr. 14, 2017 11:54AM ET / Published Mar. 18, 2015 6:49PM ET 

      Danny Moloshok/Reuters

      Last fall, Oprah warned Raven-Symoné, “Oh, girl, don’t set Twitter on fire!” The actress and singer may have waited a few months, but her defense of a Univision anchor who made what’s been interpreted as a racist joke at Michelle Obama’s expense has set Twitter ablaze.

      In an interview with The Daily Beast on Wednesday, Symoné said she is sticking to her guns and is “not going to back down” from her defense of Rodner Figueroa on The View and on Twitter.

      Symoné, a guest star on Empire who will appear soon on black-ish, has been a guest host on The View all week. During Monday’s Hot Topics segment, the conversation turned to Figueroa, who was fired after saying Obama looked like she was from the cast of Planet of the Apes during a Univision segment that showed a makeup artist’s transformation into the first lady.

      Co-host Rosie Perez went on a tear when the topic came up, speaking heatedly about what she views as underlying racism against blacks in the Latino community. “They never want to be in the same group as black people and it’s sad,” she said. Her conclusion about Figueroa’s comments: “It was racist, period.”

      Symoné disagreed. “I don’t think he was saying it racist,” she said. “Not Michelle Obama. Michelle, don’t fire me for this right now, but some people do look like animals…Is that rude? I look like a bird. So can I be mad at somebody that calls me Toucan Sam?”

      Figueroa, in the wake of his own controversy, has clarified that he was referring to the makeup artist who transformed into Obama, not the first lady herself. Still, Symoné’s comments have become news in their own right, and the actress has taken to Twitter to defend herself, tweeting, “Some comments are rude, some are disrespectful, and some are racist. Try to not exchange one for the other.”

      The Daily Beast asked Symoné why she thinks her comments caused such uproar. “I don’t think they heard what I said,” she said. “I did not defend the man. I said that what he said was very distasteful. And I think that the organization is in the right to fire him. And I don’t believe that she looks like a racially charged animal that has been connected to the black community for years and years.”

      Then, with a laugh, she added: “However, I do know people that look like animals!”

      Symoné said she stands by what she said on The View. “I can’t—I’m not going to back down from what I believe in,” she said. “We should bring up the fact that on Instagram people do that every day. They post one picture of a celebrity and an object or an animal right next to each other. ‘Doesn’t this look like that?’” As for Figueroa’s Planet of the Apes quip, “He didn’t understand that that word is hurtful in some communities because of the connotation of it. I understand that. But also I think that there’s some people that look like animals. I look like a bird. Everybody’s not racially angry. Calm down.”

      This interview is a portion of a forthcoming profile of Raven-Symoné that will appear in The Daily Beast.

      Kevin Fallon

      Senior Editor, Obsessed

      @kpfallonkevin.fallon@thedailybeast.com

      Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

      READ THIS LIST

      DAILY BEAST
      • Cheat Sheet
      • Politics
      • Entertainment
      • Media
      • World
      • Innovation
      • U.S. News
      • Scouted
      • Travel
      • Subscription
      • Crossword
      • Newsletters
      • Podcasts
      • About
      • Contact
      • Tips
      • Jobs
      • Advertise
      • Help
      • Privacy
      • Code of Ethics & Standards
      • Diversity
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Copyright & Trademark
      • Sitemap
      • Best Picks
      • Coupons
      • Coupons:
      • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
      • HP Coupon Codes
      • Chewy Promo Codes
      • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
      • NordVPN Coupons
      • JCPenny Coupons
      • Nordstrom Coupons
      • Samsung Promo Coupons
      • Home Depot Coupons
      • Hotwire Promo Codes
      • eBay Coupons
      • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
      © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC