Raven Symone at the premiere of Empire | Photos: Getty for Fox
Tonight on Black-ish, Raven Symone will return as Rhonda so that she can finally come out to the family. As the actress explains in an interview with ETOnline, just about everyone knows that the character is gay except her mother, but Rhonda "understands that her family is the 'don't' ask, don't tell' type of family." So what is the response from the characters on the show? According to Symone, it's a mixed bag, which is to be expected:
"From her brother's wife it's of acceptance, and from her brother it's kind of a weird revelation of 'I knew it, but we don't talk about it' type of thing. From her mother it's a reaction that I'm sure a lot of people in the LGBT community get from an older generation. It's interesting to see how it plays out in the episode, and it will hopefully help others accept themselves and be able to teach acceptance to another generation."
Raven Symone on Black-ish
Fans of Empire probably already know that Symone and the show's star, Jussie Smollett, have been BFFs for some time (just check out their Instagram chats), so he also asked what she hopes will happen to her character for season 2 of the hit series. Turns out, she wants more time with Cookie. "I hope that my character comes back and has more of a relationship with Cookie, and has the ability to kind of fight for her position in Empire's company being that her daughter is an heir, and maybe give some of that money," the actress explains.
Not only is she also returning to her Disney Channel roots by teaming up with Zendaya on K.C. Undercover, Symone has also been appearing as a guest panelist on The View, something she enjoys:
"I love those ladies, I love talking about current topics, I love getting dressed up again every day and having fun with those women. I think they are very smart, they're very respectful of each other, and everyone respects each other's opinions and lets us get it out. There's so many more guests that we get to interview over the next couple of weeks and I'll be on for that. It's a wonderful, wonderful experience to be having at this age and to be able to express myself now. A lot of people are used to me being quiet, or very very politically correct, or young and only doing comedy, and to really be able to have a conversation between these ladies is great. Working with Whoopi Goldberg is heaven, Nicolle Wallacehas been like my new best friend, and Rosie Perez really keeps me on my toes, so I'm enjoying myself."
So with all the themes on tonight's episode of Black-ish, what does she hope viewers take away? "I want them to know to keep an open mind and understand that this is what a lot of people go through on a day-to-day basis and get ready to laugh."
Black-ish airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.
