Raven-Symoné Breaks Down Her Queer Journey, That's So Raven, Cheetah Girls Secrets & More | Them

Cheetah Girls that's there's so many secrets to that movie that no one will ever know it's hilarious hey what's up I'm Raven Simone and I am here to take a look back at the things that shaped me and shaped my career this is becoming Raven Simone all right let's do this yes sir foreshadowing um so this was that's what little girls are made of this was my first album I was the youngest person to sign with MCA records at the time it was a hip-hop album there were some songs in there that I sang but I wasn't really Missy Elliott wrote this and a couple other songs on the album this was on the set of the music video where yes I got out of a private jet and yes I drove my own Jeep in the streets of New York and I was five just saying catch up it was the longest shoot of my life I remember being on set at three o'clock in the morning but I enjoyed it at the same time we brought in the visuals of Mary J Blige of Madonna of Michael Jackson of all of the really cool people back then my favorite though was this like squirt gun that I had I got to like squirt water at the camera I don't think I had to bring that home which is unfair for a five-year-old I was five just listening to one of those songs there was a song called ooh boy I think you're a cool boy when you smile at me that way I feel so special so special I it makes me want to know your name I want to know your name and I'm like no I don't oh honey I'm Monique just moved here cool where do you go to school Middleton High me too I start Monday Kim Possible this was fun I enjoy doing Kim Possible Taj Mowry is a friend of mine Christy Carlson Romano and everybody else that was a part of it we were part of something special I will toot my own horn and say I was a part of Disney Channel years where the theme songs were epic where the catchphrases really caught on no offense to the new generation I don't watch your version of the shows but my generation of shows was bad you know what I mean call me beat me I mean that was my ringtone is I know it's yours too I know it is because of working on Kim Possible and other cartoons and characters that I tried to be a part of I went to Art School and I got my AAA because of it because I always was intrigued on composition and it started there for sure I mean I was drawing all the time but animation really caught my eye on to the next one on to the next one and here we are 2003 that's a raven did the baker say to the test tube you're getting an F We Had the Time of Our Lives that first season and then the time of our career until the end of that show we had so many personal goals met so many career goals met friendships that will last forever enemies that will last forever a good show has both I was the first black female to have a show named after her on television youngest on television at this point I was more aware of my queerness however I was in a relationship with a guy who I would tell on a regular basis if we get married you know I gotta have a girlfriend right foreign yes I was aware my friends were aware my parents were not and I knew but I didn't know but I knew but it wasn't like concrete my queerness was never an issue because when I didn't put it out in public and everybody in the industry everybody even if you're straight you know what's up so it's like it's okay but I am aware that during this period of time in our country it wasn't about your truth it was about how you can make others happy and live the life that someone else wants you to live so that Society can go on the way they want it to go on The Cheetah Girls Cheetah Sisters Cheetah Girls there's so many secrets to that movie that no one will ever know it's hilarious um anywho this was a great experience because I felt what it was like to be a part of something in a group formation and not have to lead but I had never worked with an all-girl cast before I love you Adrian I love you so much I just realized that I'm not good at drama I'm not a fan of doing dramatic work I like acting crazy on television and that's what I do I don't mind it me and anybody else just hold down the funny anyway loved the music loved performing with them that's what made me confident in who I was at the time even though I was still dating the same guy everyone knew what was up again you have really powerful young women in a position on on a movie how many lobsters you about to put in a pot yeah I mean we're good though I love you Adrian Moving On The One and Only the moment I said I'm done time to go on retirement this was Sister Act on Broadway this was as if like I really could have retired for the rest of my life after this it felt like a great cherry on top of my career Auntie Whip's always been the best and encouraging and kind of a psychic every time I talk to her she's like no you're gonna do this watch I'm like what she knew I was going to marry Miranda she knew I was going to be on another show she's like really she's Auntie honey she's real auntie but always encouraged someone and I'm not gonna name who I I think I have my suspicions but someone told the press that my girlfriend was with me at the time outed me before I outed me which didn't get all over the place because it was just like Broadway news it wasn't like major but I do remember that and me and as were like oh lee no no no um Nami my dog took care of me that time so I just said after this I'm done and then I went to retire and I had the best gay life ever bye oh you guys can I tell you what happened as Marie and I were hungry and we went up the street to a Louisiana Fried Chicken y'all ever been there it's good it can be salty sometimes but it's good and I was watching YouTube she went in I just tweeted it I was just like you know what I'm just gonna enjoy that and see what happens and I walked into the fried chicken spot didn't say anything got my chicken ate it ring ring ring ring coming oh no it happened like wasn't expecting it at all but like just the smell of fried chicken made this happen I'm just letting you guys know yeah I can get married and I did yay government so proud of you I'd been in a relationship with as already and I this I was retired I wasn't working you could not find me other than on my Instagram so I was like I'm not coming back like I don't have to worry about it because I wasn't expecting to come back to the industry because I was retired yeah along that lists but yeah so I have definitely encountered many a comment and conversations with people within the lgbtq plus community that thanked me and I can't accept their love I have to share that with a man named Demond green who was on Sister Act with me I remember he set me down once and he was like you're gonna have to come out and I was like no I'm not he's like you are going to do it I'm like no no watch me no nope nope and he really sat me down and told me he was one of those people who watched me grow up and there's not enough role models and I'm like I didn't have any role models either like who did I have to look up to no offense Ellen back then that didn't go so well for her and so all of those moments just did not lead up to a safe environment for me to come out and he goes yeah but you're that for other people and I'm like why I got to be the Martyr like that's not fair I didn't like having that conversation with him and then I smelled fried chicken and I came out and I was like okay fine and speaking to all of these people now that had watched me grow up and I say thank you but you should thank Demond because he gave me the courage to do it on top of many other things but he really did he set me down and told me that if I'm going to be in the position I'm in with the name that I have there are certain things that I'm gonna have to do that I don't want to do I'm like since I was born what are you talking about this has been my whole life like I didn't always want to go on tour I just did it because I was told to I'm still kind of weirded out by it now when people look at me in that sense because I'm like I'm happy that you got someone I never got that like where's mine yeah I'm jealous of you guys you're welcome I'm happy that I'm there for you but uh actually I've turned that on its head now and I look at the generation that said I helped them and I go well you're helping me be more true to myself now and that means to me that you can be inspired by any age group right I can be inspired by a seven-year-old who's living their best life in a tutu I'm like yes I'm gonna be in a tutu today I like having those conversations with them and I make sure I share my story in that world so that they know that it wasn't easy and that I needed someone like they needed someone yeah during that the start of it the mask of like I didn't say anything that I said I'm back to the person that you knew from before nobody knows what's going on with me like living in my own secret bubble but knowing that other people know Whoopi Goldberg is one of the most amazing people that I've ever met in my life she is a golden crane as well best shoe collection and best house you'll ever have best guest room bed ever like invests in her guests Whoopi Goldberg is amazing she's the reason I did it would I do it again yeah yeah I wouldn't do that again did I learn massive lessons that it is a skill to be on live television and voice your opinions yes I apologized multiple times for the things that came out of my mouth and I still am learning from them but I did grow up one of the reasons I really wanted to do it because I felt a lot of people in my position growing up in front of the world normally people take routes of over sexualization and look how big my boobies are how are they big boobs but it's just overtly that way and I wanted to show my adultness through my brain which I was like I'm good I'm good I'm good I'm gonna be a kid again um I enjoyed it though do you think that you would have felt comfortable going on ready come out first of all they told me this wasn't gonna be politically oriented when they revamped it so catfished one two me coming out wasn't a part of that again like I said when I started that show I pretended like I didn't even say anything like it wasn't a part of my identity I went right back to that other person I'm used to hiding I'm used to hiding myself so it was easy to hide in plain view wow blackish you guys blackish it was fun to be able to just be normal but know that that was a part of my character description and not have to put on a little scared because my grandma was watching and I was told that if I ever came out it would kill my grandma but I didn't care anymore about other people's thought processes it was a good show it's good to be able to do that I'm proud of her Raven's home not the best roommate in Chicago let me say I heard Miley Cyrus went to 103 episodes and I wasn't having it I needed to get my title back for most episodes on Disney Channel no I'm just playing was I I was talking to Disney Channel about coming back and they were like well what do you want to do I said I want to direct I want to produce I don't really want to be on the K in front of the camera that much anymore you know what I mean like I'm I'm retired they said sure we'd love to teach you so I was able to start at the beginning of a show and learn about how the set is brought together and how to hire the right people and seeing what the writers were like and really be a part of casting and really give my opinion and people were listening and I was like this is awesome this is super freaking cool so the passion that I have for this show is something akin to like a child I think Disney wanted her to be queer in the beginning and I just didn't feel comfortable doing that they were like do you want Raven to be gay I said why because you are I said bad bad reason that's a bad reason no Raven Baxter never exhibited any type of sexual identity situation in the priors I'm not being myself on this show I'm being a character Raven Baxter's not gay no matter what the first four seasons looked like with me and Chelsea sleeping in the same room and US raising a family together okay that's not the case we are friends who's leaving the same room it's so funny because we're working on sixth season now and I'm talking to the EPs and they're like and you're gonna start dating I'm like um she don't need to date either she's just gonna be nothing this is what I love about my career is that grandparents their kids the grandkids and some of them grandkids got kids they're watching Raven's home because of Cosby Cooper that's a raven and Raven's home and it truly is a family sitcom because even though the topics could be geared towards kids Annelise and myself really worked hard in order to create adult characters that adult parents could be like ugh I wish I could be that Carefree with my kids that's fun aspirational type of characters and it brings me utter joy to walk down the street and a woman 82 I remember when you were two years old I was watching I was like thank you ma'am and then the kid is like a raven and then I have to turn into like this bubbly person so that they recognize me there too I was told a long time ago every day in your life is a page in your book and you want to make sure that whoever reads the book later on you're not embarrassed by anything and that's cool that all those different age brackets can read through my book I got a couple volumes and I'm only 36 years old so that's really cool next my wife I was hosting a karaoke night over on Santa Monica Boulevard in gayville and she was there I was like oh hi I'm shy and then we exchanged numbers we talked for a while they call her biggie so she sent me pictures of like Biggie Smalls I was like I'm sorry what then we had a lot in common even though she was never in the industry in front of the camera she's been in the industry behind the scenes her whole entire life as well since she was like three she was always involved in Hollywood so a lot of stories similar a lot of conversations total lesbians though like second night you want to move to New York with me I'm about to go to The View and she did I loved lockdown I loved it so much because it was the first time in my entire life where I didn't have to worry about my job but I didn't have to go to a job and I was able to care about myself and like what I wanted my sexuality marinated in itself and started to change a little bit more and she was there my bugle she's always there it feels so good to be able to know you have someone there for you but you can still go out into the world meaning like when we first got married it's like I'm going to the store I'm coming I'm gonna go brush my teeth I'll be there with you I'm gonna go work I'm coming both of us and now it's like I'll go to store I'll be back all right see you later and like but you know that when you come home you got someone there because living in single person life forever it's like am I ever going to be with someone and that Mantra kind of sits in your system until you get married you have to click over to the new one and I think after these first two years that we had were our single brained mind of is that person still going to be there when I get back or well yeah because we only have one car and I'm not about to walk but at the same time you know what I mean like marriage to a female it's fun it's like it's it's really cool so much better than when I was dating guys thank you for spending time with me today this has been wonderful and it's been becoming Raven Simone [Music]

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Keywords: becoming, cheetah girls, raven, raven symone, raven symone 2022, raven symone breaks down, raven symone cheetah girls, raven symone disney, raven symone funny, raven symone interview, raven symone queer, raven symone that's so raven, raven symone the view, raven symone them, raven symone them interview, that's so raven, thats so raven, the cheetah girls, the view, them, them becoming

Id: z6bSu6rIVpA

Length: 18min 20sec (1100 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 10 2022