It was just three years ago that Raven-Symoné shocked many longtime fans and confirmed the rumors that she’s gay. Since then, fans have hailed that moment as the time when Raven came out of the closet. However, according to new reports, Raven recently opened up about that famous incident three years ago and revealed that she’d privately come out even before that.
According to media reports, Raven opened up about her sexuality in the latest season of the famous “It Gets Better” campaign, which aims to provide uplifting testimonials from celebs to LGBT youth. Raven explained how controlled her life was when she was a young star working alongside Bill Cosby and then leading her own Disney show, “That’s So Raven.”
“My likeness … however, you see it at that time, had 15 people dictating what I should and should not look like. If I did whatever I want, it’s not gonna sell. It doesn’t go with the brand. I was branded at such a young age,” said Raven.
She then explains that she was aware early on in life that she was gay, but tried to hide it for the sake of her career and image.
“I kinda pushed myself to look for boys. I look back now like, ‘Whoa, you like girls.’ I didn’t wanna tell my parents. I had the No. 1 show on Disney. I had multiple albums, I’d been on tour with *NSYNC … I didn’t wanna deal with that,” Raven explained.
She added, “I never thought I would come out because my personal life didn’t matter. It was only what was supposed to be sold as the Raven-Symone brand.”
According to Raven, after her Disney show wrapped, she went off to college and finally got the courage to come out to those close to her after she fell in love with a woman for the first time.
“I went to college. I felt good and I had support there beyond belief. And that was the first time where I felt like I didn’t have to have a ‘beard.’ I didn’t have to have a man standing by me. I felt lighter, I felt like I could go out and not have to put on 17 different hats to be myself,” Raven explained.
Raven explains that her parents both have had different reactions to her coming out.
“She’s [her mom] is still working with it,” Raven said, claiming that her mom initially thought it was a phase. However, she explains her dad told her, “I had a feeling [you were].”
Well, we’re glad that Raven opened up about her real coming out story and we hope it helps other LGBT youth to find the courage to come out as well.
