Just Watch Oprah's Reaction After Actress Rejects Labels and Declares Herself Not 'African-American
"I want you to say what you really mean by that..."
Jason Howerton
(OWN)
Actress and singer Raven-Symone left Oprah Winfrey visibly surprised during an interview when she explained that she's "tired of being labeled" and considers herself "American," not "African-American."
Raven, who is best known for her roles on "The Cosby Show" and "That's So Raven," said she doesn't want to be labeled as "gay" either, because she is just a "human who loves humans."
"I'm tired of being labeled. I'm an American. I'm not an African-American; I'm an American," she said.
"Oh, girl, don't set up Twitter on fire," Winfrey responded. "Oh, my lord. What did you just say?"
Raven continued: "I mean, I don't know where my roots go to. I don't know how far back they go...I don't know what country in Africa I'm from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I'm an American. And that's a colorless person."
Winfrey then warned the entertainer that she would "get a lot of flak for saying you're not African-American."
"I want you to say what you really mean by that," the host pressed.
"What I really mean by that is I'm an American. That's what I really mean," Raven replied. "I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture."
Watch part of the interview below via OWN:
(H/T: EOnline)