Raven-Symone apologizes for name discrimination comments
By
Andrea Park
/ CBS News
Raven-Symone has apologized for the controversial comments she made about name discrimination on "The View."
"The View" co-host said that her "comment was in poor taste."
The former Disney star explained that when she said she wouldn't hire someone named "Watermelondrea," she was cracking a joke from a viral YouTube video.
On Sunday night, Symone wrote on Facebook, "My comments about discrimination have spun out of control.
"I'd like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a specific race, but repeating a name that was said in a viral video which has received over 2 million likes."
Symone, 29, continued and said that she herself had been the victim of discrimination.
"We would hope that when it comes to hiring, our names, physical appearance, sexual orientation, and age would never outweigh our qualifications, but often times, they do, thats the truth and it sucks," she said. "But I should not be part of the problem, I should be part of the solution."
Symone said that she didn't mean it when she said she would discriminate against an employee because of their name.
"As an equal opportunity employer, I have never discriminated against a name....even though I said I would, it's not true. My comment was in poor taste. My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for. I would also like to say that on Friday my account was hacked, those are not my words."
Even Symone's father criticized the TV personality on Saturday and called her comments "an inexcusable gaffe."
My comments about discrimination have spun out of control. I'd like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a...
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Raven-Symone apologizes for name discrimination comments
By Andrea Park
/ CBS News
Raven-Symone has apologized for the controversial comments she made about name discrimination on "The View."
"The View" co-host said that her "comment was in poor taste."
The former Disney star explained that when she said she wouldn't hire someone named "Watermelondrea," she was cracking a joke from a viral YouTube video.
On Sunday night, Symone wrote on Facebook, "My comments about discrimination have spun out of control.
"I'd like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a specific race, but repeating a name that was said in a viral video which has received over 2 million likes."
Symone, 29, continued and said that she herself had been the victim of discrimination.
"We would hope that when it comes to hiring, our names, physical appearance, sexual orientation, and age would never outweigh our qualifications, but often times, they do, thats the truth and it sucks," she said. "But I should not be part of the problem, I should be part of the solution."
Symone said that she didn't mean it when she said she would discriminate against an employee because of their name.
"As an equal opportunity employer, I have never discriminated against a name....even though I said I would, it's not true. My comment was in poor taste. My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for. I would also like to say that on Friday my account was hacked, those are not my words."
Even Symone's father criticized the TV personality on Saturday and called her comments "an inexcusable gaffe."
Andrea is an entertainment producer at CBSNews.com
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