Oh snap! Raven-Symone has once again found herself at the center of a controversy — this time regarding Women On 20s' mission to get a female face on the $20 bill. The actress came under fire while guest-hosting The View on Wednesday, May 13, when she voiced her objections to choosing Harriet Tubman, one of four finalists in an online poll for the campaign.
"No offense to everyone who's going to be mad at me for saying this: I don't like that idea. I don't like it," the Cosby Show alum, 29, said after co-host Nicolle Wallace revealed that Tubman had won the vote. "I think we need to move a little bit forward."
She continued: "Let me just preface [by saying], I understand the history. I get it, trust me. I was taught, I'm in that culture. But there's also Wilma Mankiller, there's also Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Harriet Tubman." (Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Mankiller, civil rights icon Parks, and First Lady Roosevelt were the other finalists in Women On 20s' poll.)
"Me personally, I would've chosen Rosa Parks," Symone shared. "I would have chosen someone that is closer to the progression that we're doing now. I know you have to understand history so you don't repeat it, but that doesn't happen in our world, because we still repeat history of hating other cultures over and over again. So I would choose a different one, no offense."
Fellow guest host Molly Sims agreed with the star's preference for Parks, but Rosie Perez made a case for Tubman. "I like Harriet Tubman. She set a precedent," Perez argued. "She was very bold; she risked her life over and over and over again with the Underground Railroad."
She added, however, that she would have been happy with any of the choices. "I don't care, just as long as it's a woman," she said.
Twitter users weren't quite as eager to let Symone off the hook. Some said she was "ignorant," while others said they couldn't take her seriously after her comment about being from "every continent in Africa." Read some of the tweets below:
Raven Symone says Harriett Tubman isn't progressive enough for the $20 bill. FML.
— Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) May 14, 2015
I'm not sure what Raven Symone is trying to say. Harriet Tubman guided 300 slaves to freedom. How is that not a history that evokes pride?
— Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) May 14, 2015
I can only conclude that Raven Symone consistent stupidity is designed to steal Stacey Dash's job on Fox news.
— ProfB (@AntheaButler) May 14, 2015
I really liked Raven Symone a lot better when she was having visions at the Chill Grill.
— Brandon Pope ABC 57 (@BpopeTV) May 14, 2015
Black people don't want Raven Symone anymore. Any other races or continents accepting currently???
— Erica Diggs (@DiggsandCo) May 14, 2015
