JAY-Z photo by Amy Price
Raven-Symoné doesn’t have the greatest history of racially conscious quotes. The former That So Raven star has been quoted as saying she wouldn’t hire people with “ghetto names.” She also doesn’t want to be labeled “African-American,” and thinks Beyoncé should go back to “singing a ballad in a dress.” Even her dad admits she says some “dumb shit.” Well, ever making her poppa proud, Raven-Symoné was at it again this weekend, essentially slamming all of hip-hop in one reposted Instagram picture.
The image came from Roc Nation’s pre-Grammys brunch party last week and saw JAY-Z surrounded by fellow hop-hop A-listers like Diddy, T.I., DJ Khaled, marketing CEO Steve Stoute, and others. The accompanying caption ripped the group for gaining fame off “the worst Black stereotypes.” In full, the message read:
“A group of so-called ‘successful’ black men (minus Khalid racially) who became rich and famous from perpetuating the worst Black stereotypes to the ears and eyes of the whole planet like drug dealing, pimping, murdering other Black men and disrespecting Black women. I know, making observations is being a hater. Cheers.”
Presumably, “Khalid” was meant to be “Khaled.” The original image came from @Speech_, who added more in the caption: “I listen to many of these brothers art and I respect certain things about them. But it is imperative that we don’t lose sight of the simple truth – these men were CONGRATULATED by a white supremacist culture for degrading black men and women, portraying us as disposable as a cockroach within their lyrics.”
After receiving backlash in the comments section of her post, Raven-Symoné deleted it, replacing it with a note saying she still stands by the sentiment.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BexDCf_gx_q/?taken-by=ravensymone
T.I. responded directly to the TV personality with his own post. “The air must be thin as hell up there on that high horse you sittin on,” he wrote.
In an indirect way, Diddy himself had something to say, though his post came before Raven-Symoné even said a word. Captioning an image of himself with JAY-Z, Diddy wrote that they were, “Talking about how we want our people to rise. And it’s way bigger than us.”
In other words: That’s so uncool, Raven.
