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Raven-Symoné Clarifies Controversial ‘Ghetto' Name Comments From ‘The View'

Raven-Symoné is trying to explain herself after recent comments on "The View" spurred some serious backlash.

In a Facebook post shared Sunday evening, the co-host clarified her remarks and promises she has "never discriminated against a name."

"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," she wrote to her 4.8 million followers. "My comment was in poor taste. My lack of empathy towards name discrimination was uncalled for....As an equal opportunity employer, I have never discriminated against a name....even though I said I would, it's not true."

During "Hot Topics" Thursday morning, the co-hosts were discussing a new study released in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior. The former child star would later share that she wouldn't consider any "ghetto" names if she were an employer looking to hire.

"Just to bring it back, can we take back 'racist' and say 'discriminatory,' because I think that's a better word," she said during the daytime talk-show. "And I am very discriminatory against words like the ones that they were saying in the video. I'm not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea. It's just not going to happen. I'm not going to hire you."

As soon as the episode aired, a number of viewers began slamming the 29-year-old for her comments. Even Raven's father had some words to say on Facebook over the weekend.

"I certainly don't agree with what she said....but she is damn near thirty years old," Christopher B. Pearman explained on social media. "She's a grown ass woman making grown ass mistakes. We all have been guilty of this."

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He added, "Her Mother and I Love her Very much and will always support her and have her back. Even if sometimes..........she says some dumb S#%T!"

Sunday, Raven also opened up about her own experiences with discrimination.

"I have been denied many jobs because of my skin color, body size, and age. Each time I was rejected, my self-esteem was negatively affected, so I empathize with those who feel victimized by what I said," she wrote. "We would hope that when it comes to hiring, our names, physical appearance, sexual orientation, and age would never outweigh our qualifications, but often times, they do, that's the truth and it sucks. But I should not be part of the problem, I should be part of the solution."

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