In a candid interview on the new Disney+ series Turning the Tables With Robin Roberts, Raven-Symone, who rose to fame as a child star on The Cosby Show and That's So Raven, shares about how being in the public eye made her feel as though she had to remain closeted. But falling in love helped her to come out.
"I was in love, at the time, with that person, and I was fed up with just closing the door and being myself once the door was closed instead of being told out in public that who I was wasn't brandable," Symone tells Roberts in an exclusive clip. "I've been told I've been a liability. This is what your job is and that's who you are. Especially at that young of an age, like you have to stay this way, and look this way."
The conversation unfolded on the series in which out media personality Roberts hosts a roundtable discussion with various women. Lesbian comic and actor Tig Notaro also appears on the episode with Symone.
"I just fell in love..." Symone reiterates. "Oh, OK, I don't have to be 39 before I come out, which is what I thought when I was younger because that was the trend at the time," Symone says, clarifying that when she was younger, she saw no one her age to model after.
"I don't remember young people my age in the '90s coming out. You only saw an older generation do it," she adds.
Turning the Tables With Robin Roberts premieres Wednesday. The synopsis of the series is as follows:
"Get personal with Robin Roberts and some of Hollywood's groundbreaking women as they bear witness to their incredible journeys on their path to purpose. Each episode is a profound conversation filled with emotion and inspiration. Listen to never-before-heard stories of how these groundbreakers came face-to-face with their vulnerability, authenticity and intuition. Discover their commonalities and learn how their stories and experiences created room for expansion and evolution."
Roberts's guests include Debbie Allen, Billie Jean King, Jenna Dewan, Josie Totah, Melissa Etheridge, and more.
Watch the clip with Symone below.
