Outspoken, Openly Gay Actress Raven-Symone Named Co-Panelist Of ABC's 'The View'
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) -- Raven-Symone is now officially a co-host of ABC's "The View."
After 37 appearances as guest co-host on the weekday talk show, she joins the panel alongside moderator Whoopi Goldberg and co-hosts Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez effective immediately. Her co-panelists made the announcement on Wednesday's edition.
She told them she was happy to be joining what she called her talented mentors and added, "Let's have some fun!"
The outspoken actress is openly lesbian and admitted she is in a relationship with a woman during an interview with Oprah Winfrey but said she eschews labels. "I don't want to be labeled gay, I want to be a human who loves humans."
Symone stirred controversy recently on an episode of The View when she said she would not chose abolitionist Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
"I don't like the idea," she said. "I think we need to move a little more forward… I understand history, I get it — trust me I was taught, I'm in that culture — but there was also Wilma Mankiller, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Tubman. I would have personally chosen Rosa Parks."
Raven-Symone is widely known for her role in the comedy series "That's So Raven" for Disney Channel. Recent credits include roles on the ABC comedy "black-ish" and on Fox's "Empire" as well as the upcoming animated feature "Animal Crackers." In 2012, she headlined the Broadway musical "Sister Act," produced by Goldberg.
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