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"Yep that's me!": Raven Symoné & Disney



Raven Symoné is one of Disney’s biggest icons. Most of us grew up with her whether it was from That’s So Raven, the Cheetah Girls franchise, or from her music. However, did you know that they originally were not going to give her the lead? In a recent podcast, Anneliese van der Pol told viewers that Raven was originally cast as the sidekick and the show was called Absolutely Psychic. After many tests, the directors saw that Raven was lead material and That’s So Raven was born. There were not many shows that have black women as the leads. Most were cast as sidekicks such as Angela from Boy Meets World. Disney set a milestone with the show. As time progresses, most Disney actors move on to other projects as they get older. 

In 2017, Raven and Anneliese returned to Disney for a reboot of That’s So Raven called Raven’s Home. When I first heard of it, I thought that Raven would have married her high school sweetheart and be a famous fashion designer. Contrary to popular belief, the show is about Raven and Chelsea (Anneliese’s character) being single mothers and raising their children together. The creators at Disney had another different plan for Raven and hinted at the idea of the character being gay. She stated, “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 sleep in the same room." Raven did not want her personal life and Raven Baxter meshing together. The show is very heartwarming. You can see her children growing up, her son finding out he is psychic, and how they navigate through life with their friend Tess. I am glad a new generation can experience Raven Baxter as we did.



Sources:

https://www.insider.com/raven-symone-shut-down-plans-character-gay-in-ravens-home-2022-11


Comments

  1. Catherine ArnettApril 25, 2023 at 9:52 PM

    This is so cool, That’s So Raven was a huge part of my childhood as well and I’m glad it ended up the way it did despite it not being the usual for Disney at the time. I did not know about the reboot, it sounds like a really interesting concept, one that is also not super common for Disney. I also think it is very interesting that the actor stuck to her opinion in opposition of what Disney was planning, it doesn’t seem like that would be super common.

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  2. Jailyn HarrisApril 26, 2023 at 5:58 AM

    It is very heartwarming to see Disney cater to Black girls as they often have little representation in media. Recently, they have casted the live-action versions of the Little Mermaid and Tinker Bell with Black actresses Halle Bailey and Yara Shahidi. Nevertheless, I was a fan of That's So Raven when I was younger, so it is great to see that the show has got the green light to continue the franchise, leading for more representation overall.

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  3. TMGApril 26, 2023 at 9:03 AM

    It only recently occurred to me that “That's So Raven” had come out in 2003. I met Raven when we were kids at a festival and she stayed with me and my sis after her show. We were really young. They released the show when I was just out of high school. Her antics used to crack us up. She was just a regular teen, dealing with the usual issues. It's kind of cool to see her start over as a parent and raise her children. I haven't watched it yet, but I plan on doing so soon.

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