While Raven-Symoné has previously said that she knew she was gay by the age of 12, she didn’t publicly disclose her sexual orientation until 2013 when the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, resulting in federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Now, the “That’s So Raven” star is reflecting on that time and how the road to fully accepting her sexuality had led her to face plenty of challenges which made the experience that much more difficult. In an interview with E! News, Raven-Symoné explained, “There was the crumbling of the wall that I had put up for so many years. And I felt very vulnerable, it was an interesting wound that was opened up in public.”
Back in 2016, the actress said she never thought that coming out was even an option because she was a celebrity and her personal life didn’t matter. Given that she’d been told what to say and who she was supposed to be since starring as Olivia on “The Cosby Show,” Raven-Symoné admitted in an It Gets Better video clip that she only found the courage of announcing she’s gay because she’d been seeing someone and was already “kind of over the industry” at the time. “I didn’t have to have a ‘beard.’ I didn’t have to have a man standing by me,” she continued. “I felt lighter, I felt like I could go out and not have to put on 17 different hats to be myself.”
Raven-Symoné, the cast, and executive producers of ‘Raven’s Home’ staged a walkout in protest of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. pic.twitter.com/YeSWVlbUJM
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 22, 2022
The 37-year-old, who previously expressed plans to commit to more directorial projects in the near future, continued telling E! News that she expects to continue creating content that not only shows representation but also reflects the community she and her wife Miranda Maday are both part of. Last year, for instance, Disney made history when Raven-Symoné’s spin-off “Raven’s Home” introduced its first-ever transgender character played by Juliana Joel.
The remarkable move for Disney to focus its attention on inclusion on a family network became a talking point on social media for weeks, with people feeling torn between the decision, as some argued that children shouldn’t be “influenced” by the LGBTQ+ community on a channel aimed at kids.
tell me why a video of me calling raven symone a gay icon and her turning me down went viral on tik tok pic.twitter.com/VVkL81kuiQ
— kevin (@kevuhhhn) May 12, 2020
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Regardless of other people’s opinions, though, Joel couldn’t contain her excitement to finally share the news of his casting in a sentimental Instagram post, where she wrote, “Growing up as a kid in Florida (like many other kids) I dreamt of being on the Disney Channel, specifically on That’s So Raven.
“It was my favorite show & Raven Baxter was my best friend in my mind. It was my escape from what I was going through internally. Coming from a typical Puerto Rican family, I didn’t think being an actor was possible esp for someone like me, I thought you had to be born into that world.”
Raven-Symoné married her longtime partner Miranda Maday in a private wedding ceremony held in Los Angeles.