Raven-Symoné Explains Why She Said 'No' to Making Her Raven's Home Character a Lesbian

As a millennial who grew up watching Raven-Symoné in That’s So Raven religiously back in Disney Channel’s heyday, I was more than overjoyed when I found out one of my favorite childhood fashion icons and former Cheetah Girl would be coming back to the network for a revival of sorts in the 2017 series, Raven’s Home.

The show follows her famous character Raven Baxter, now a divorced mom of two, as she raises her kids alongside best friend Chelsea (also played by original That’s So Raven actress Anneliese van der Pol) and her son. While the image of two women living together under the same roof on the show might aesthetically give off allusions to Symoné’s real-life marriage to her wife Miranda, according to People, it was also almost a real storyline for her character on Raven’s Home.

In a recent interview on the Pride podcast, Raven revealed that the execs at Disney asked about making her titular role of Raven Baxter a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, but she ultimately declined.

“You know what, there was a conversation before the series started and I was asked the question, ‘Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?’ And I said, no. I said no,” Raven explained. “And the reason I said no wasn’t because I wasn’t proud of who I was, or I didn’t want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way. It was because Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter.”

She continued, “There was no reason for me to change the human that she was in order to fit the actress that played her. And Raven Baxter is a character that I was proud to play, even if she is straight, cisgender, I don’t mind. Let her have her moment. She was divorced though, and I had no worries about saying, ‘No boyfriends.’”

To be honest, I wouldn’t care if they made her white—I’m lying, I’m totally lying, yes TF I would care if they made Raven Baxter white, never mind. All I’m saying is, it really wouldn’t matter to me had they gone that route because #RavenBaxterHiveForLife, “I’mma stick beside her.” But as long as everyone’s happy, that’s all that matters.