Categories: News

Raven-Symone Opens Up About Girlfriend, Not Wanting To Be Called 'Gay' Or 'African-American'

Raven-Symone gave her first interview since coming out last summer in a tweet, opening up about her aversion to labels to Oprah Winfrey.

Raven-Symone On Labels

Symone talked to Winfrey on OWN about the tweet she sent out in August 2013 after the Supreme Court ruled against DOMA and Prop 8. “I can finally get married!,” the former That’s So Raven star wrote. “Yay government! So proud of you.”


While most took Symone’s tweet to mean that she was coming out as a lesbian, the actress says that while she’s in “an amazing, happy relationship” with a woman, she’s not interested in her sexuality being labeled as gay or lesbian.

"I don't want to be labeled gay," Symone said. "I want to be labeled a human who loves humans."

When Winfrey pressed her on the intention of the tweet, Symone elaborated, "That was my way of saying I'm proud of the country…. My mother and people in my family have taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. I try my best to hold the fence where I can. But I am proud to be who I am and what I am."

Symone has also grown weary of being labeled an African-American, preferring to be thought of first and foremost as an American. "I'm tired of being labeled. I'm an American; I'm not an African-American,” she told a surprised Winfrey. “I'm an American."

Though Winfrey warned Symone not to break Twitter with her potentially inflammatory statement, Symone articulated, “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, because we're all people. I have lots of things running through my veins."

Symone, trying in earnest to convey her belief in the negligibility of labels in modern society, went on, “What I really mean by that is I'm an American. 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 each culture. … Aren't we all [a melting pot]? Isn't that what America's supposed to be?"

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Chelsea Regan

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Chelsea Regan

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