ABC responded on Saturday to hundreds of thousand of online petitioners requesting that Raven-Symone be removed from her co-hosting duties on “The View.”
“We love Raven. She is confident, genuine and opinionated, all qualities that make her a great addition to the panel,” a representative for ABC said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
The statement comes in response to a Change.org petition titled “Petition to Remove Raven Symone from the View.”
The petition, which has garnered over 100,000 signatures in just three days, calls on Barbara Walters to fire the “Cosby Show” child star from “The View” over remarks she has made that many consider to be offensive to black people.
The 29-year-old actress has sparked controversy in recent weeks saying she wouldn’t hire someone with a “ghetto name” like “Watermelondrea.”
Earlier this week she suggested the Spring Valley High School girl who was thrown to the ground by a school resources officer this week bore responsibility for the arrest and shouldn’t have been on her cell phone in the first place.
The petition, started by Che Scott-Heron from the U.K., has gained 119,525 signatures. The goal is to reach 150,000 supporters.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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