Raven-Symoné Believes People Should Be Allowed To Wear Any Hairstyle They Choose: “I Don’t Care What Kind Of Hair You Have As Long As You Don’t Say That You Invented It”

Raven-Symoné has never been the person to shy away from voicing her opinions and is now sharing her thoughts on shared hairstyles.

In a recent episode of Tea Time w/ Raven & Miranda, the couple sat down with comedian and actress Nicole Byer and discussed various topics. One, in particular, surrounded the idea of hair. Host Miranda opened the conversation, asking the women their thoughts on the subject. Raven quickly responded, stating that she thinks people shouldn’t gate-keep hair.

“I think that no matter what color you are, you should be able to wear braids and any other styles that anybody else wears,” Raven said. “I don’t think it’s fair that we are blocking people from choosing designs that they want on their hair.”

Byer then chimed in and brought up an example of how workplaces sometimes deem braids as unprofessional for certain races but widely acceptable for others. Seconds later, Raven countered Byer’s statement by mentioning that the Vikings, Chinese, and Mongolians all wear “cornrows.” However, she did make it clear that she doesn’t agree with employers discriminating against certain hairstyles.

Additionally, Miranda also gave her thoughts on the issue, questioning if a white woman wearing a fishtail braid would be seen as acceptable in the workplace while a black woman wearing box braids would be unacceptable. Of course, Raven and Byers quickly confirmed Miranda’s thoughts, which she thought was “f*cked up.”

“That’s super f*cked up,” Miranda said. “I don’t agree with that. It’s really sh*tty and I don’t know where I’m trying to go with this other than I had braids in my hair. Not like a white girl but like braids and I got a lot of sh*t for it.”

Nevertheless, Raven doubled down on her original statement, saying she feels like it’s unfair for people to not wear the hairstyles they grew up with because of society’s rules.

“I understand when it’s stigmatized and when the person who grew up with braids then is not allowed to move forward in a society,” she added. “I also don’t know if it’s fair for other people to condemn others for wearing that. Everyone should get condemned for wearing it in a business setting, if that’s the case.”

She continued, “In a normal world, I don’t care what kind of hair you have as long as you don’t say that you invented it. No one invented it. It’s a universal way of saving hair.”