Raven-Symoné—I know, at this point she’s trained us to roll our eyes when we hear her name because the things that come out of her mouth are often unsavory. From not wanting to hire people with ghetto names (cough—like hers—cough) to believing that former first lady Michelle Obama does indeed look apish, Raven-Symoné may well be a card-carrying member of the sunken place.
But when she spoke up recently about her former co-star Bill Cosby’s sexual assault allegations, she surprised us all, speaking with eloquence, compassion and the perfect amount of ambiguity.
When asked during an appearance on Thursday’s episode of People Now about whether having to report on Cosby was difficult when she was part of The View panel, Raven said: “Things are going to happen. Tough things are gonna happen. And if my mom and dad and brother are healthy, and people around me are healthy and going through stuff that they can get over eventually, I don’t call it ‘hard’ or ‘challenging,’ because I try not to internalize it.
“Living through that moment and knowing that things are ebb-and-flowing at all times, I was hoping the best for the outcome that it needed to be,” she continued. “Chalk it up, hope everything’s OK, figure it out on either side. ...
“I am trying to do this show right now, and [Cosby’s case is] going to work it out,” she added. “I want everybody who deserves justice to get justice.”
Admittedly, Raven steered clear of giving too much, but she gave just enough. Her statement is far less concerning than that of his other former co-star, and beloved icon, Phylicia Rashad, who said in 2015, “It’s not about these women” (or “forget these women,” depends on whom you ask). She continued, “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”
Raven hadn’t been completely mum on the topic before her People Now appearance. In 2014 she used an Instagram post to respond to the various inquiries about whether Cosby victimized her as a child: “I was NOT taking advantage of by Mr. Cosby when I was on the Cosby Show,” she wrote. “I was practically a baby on that show and this is truly a disgusting rumor that I want no part of! Everyone on that show treated me with nothing but kindness. Now keep me out of this!”
A year later, also on The View, when she was asked about Cosby by her then co-workers, she said: “I don’t really like to talk about it that much because he’s the reason I’m on this panel in the first place. He gave me my first job. But at the same time, you need the proof, and then I’ll be able to give my judgment here or there. And now there are real facts. More people can come up.”
Raven-Symoné must have taken some media training after all her slip-ups on The View. During the People Now interview, she was asked about sharing her opinions and said: “Most of it is not said. ... I should have just kept my mouth shut, but at the same time, the other side of my head says, ‘If I wouldn’t have said this, people wouldn’t know who I was or what I stand for, and my voice wouldn’t have been heard ... ’”
Check out the full interview below, in which she opens by laughing with the hosts over how she’s still “dating girls”: