Raven-Symone: In the Wake of Watermelondrea

Raven-Symoné recently created quite a flap by stating on the view that she would not hire you if your name was “Watermelondrea.” Damon Young, writing on The Root, found this hilariously ironic. He says the actress possesses “quite possibly the single blackest name in pop culture today. It’s blacker than Va’Shaundya Karlette Nelson (Shaunie O’Neal). Blacker than Nayvadius Cash (Future). Even blacker than Leon Jenkins….” Several days after the backlash from that remark “spun out of control,” Raven owned up to it being in poor taste on her Facebook page:

“… I’d like to begin by saying that I was not attacking a specific race, but repeating a name that was said in a viral video which has received over 2 million likes….

As an equal opportunity employer, I have never discriminated against a name….even though I said I would, it’s not true. My comment was in poor taste. My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for. I would also like to say that on Friday my account was hacked, those are not my words.”

We don’t really know what words she was talking about with the hacking part but we do know that by the following week, she felt sufficiently recovered from the onslaught to take on Ann Coulter.

Bringing up her mother’s childhood teaching that you shouldn’t say anything at all, if you don’t have anything nice to say (which she obviously has not followed herself) Raven-Symoné asked Coulter: “Why do you think it’s important to mudsling?” Coulter immediately shut her down by throwing Watermelondrea-Gate in her face. Out of your league much, Raven?

Not too long after that, US Weekly reported that Raven-Symoné and her girlfriend, AzMarie Livingston (whose real first name, by the way, is Ashley) are splitsville.