Days following her stint on the syndicated talk show, “The View,” Raven-Symoné caught up with Alicia Quarles from E! News, where she opened up about her new roles on “Black-ish” and “Empire,” her recent controversial comment concerning Michelle Obama and more.
When questioned about her stance on the recent debate between “Empire” co-stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, who each feel differently about using the N-word on the hit FOX series, Symoné responded, “It’s hard, because people use it in their everyday language behind the scenes all day, and some shows will air it and some shows won’t,” she said. “And there’s a lot of pain connected to it, but then there’s a lot of brotherly love connected to it, and I feel like you shouldn’t say a word you wouldn’t let anybody else use.”
Howard, on the other hand, has expressed that he wants to use the N-word because it’s used in casual conversation; while Henson, doesn’t feel it’s necessary.
Symon♪0′, who has never been shy about voicing her opinion, even backpeddled a bit, to rehash the buzzed-about comments she made on “The View,” where she argued that Univision host Rodner Figueroa’s remarks about FLOTUS, looking like “part of the cast of Planet of the Apes weren’t racially fueled. “I don’t think I was defending,” the actress clarifies. “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 cast, but I do know that a lot of people I know have animal traits.” the former Disney star said.
“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 the whole story and start making things [up] 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,” she said.
