Former child star Raven-Symone has been in the headlines more for her questionable quotables than her acting roles in the past year. A year ago this week Raven informed the world that she's "not African-American," and her discriminatory comments about unique names this past Thursday just made her the latest face of controversy (again). According to her father, however, "Raven is a really Beautiful, Sweethearted, Human Being...Even if sometimes..........she says some dumb S#%T!"
Last week Raven sat with Whoopi Goldberg and the other women of The View and said she wouldn't hire a person with a "ghetto" name, specifically Watermelondrea. "Just to bring it back, can we take back 'racist' and say 'discriminatory,' because I think that's a better word. And I am very discriminatory against words like the ones that they were saying in the video. I'm not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea," she stated during the segment. "It's just not going to happen. I'm not going to hire you." Raven's name was slandered through the mud immediately following the show, especially since she shares a name with a bird and is known for her often-colorful hair choices. Her father, Christopher Pearman, obviously couldn't ignore his daughter's comments either, and posted a statement on Facebook regarding her "inexcusable gaffe."
"There has been much talk today about my daughters comments on her show The View, Mr. Pearman began. "People have been hitting me up all night questioning me about her remarks. Let me say this......I haven't managed Ravens career in over 10 years. This woman is grown, has her own management team, has her own opinions, right or wrong, and is responsible for her own words and actions." He then goes on to say he doesn't "agree with what she said....but she is damn near thirty years old. She's a grown a** woman making grown a** mistakes. We all have been guilty of this."
Last night Raven-Symone addressed the controversy as well, writing that she was only "repeating a name that was said in a viral video which has received over 2 million likes." "I have been denied many jobs because of my skin color, body size, and age," she admitted. "Each time I was rejected, my self esteem was negatively effected, so I empathize with those who feel victimized by what I said...As an equal opportunity employer, I have never discriminated against a name....even though I said I would, it's not true. My comment was in poor taste."
Read both of their statements in the gallery.
Source: E! Online
