Raven Symone Apologizes For Saying She was ‘Discriminatory’ Against ‘Ghetto’ Names

After getting slammed online for previously saying she would not hire anyone with a “black”-sounding name, Raven Symone took to Facebook in order to publicly apologize for her statements on The View.

During a discussion on whether or not Americans make discriminatory assumptions on peoples’ names, Symone said that she was “very discriminatory” towards some of the “ghetto” names held by inner city African-Americans. “I’m not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea. It’s just not going to happen. I’m not going to hire you,” Symone said.

On Sunday, Symone wrote that her comments about a viral video were “spun out of control,” and described how, as someone who has faced discrimination, she empathized with who she offended.

“I have been denied many jobs because of my skin color, body size, and age. Each time I was rejected, my self esteem was negatively effected, so I empathize with those who feel victimized by what I said,” Symone wrote.

Symone went on to say that she was an equal opportunity employer, and hoped that she could be part of the solution, rather than the problem.

“My comment was in poor taste,” Symone said. “My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for.”

[h/t Hollywood Reporter]
[image via screengrab]

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