Raven-Symoné Defends Rachel Dolezal

Rachel Dolezal, a former NAACP chapter president who has been passing herself as Black, has plenty of critics. The View co-host Raven-Symoné, however, isn't one of them. The former child star, who does not herself identify as African-American, defended the Black-identifying Dolezal in an interview with Us Weekly yesterday. "I love her," she told the magazine. "Listen, we can't judge anybody. We don't know that person's life. We're only getting bits and pieces." The outspoken star also compared Dolezal's transracial identity to the trans community. "It's reminiscent of Caitlyn Jenner and many other transgender people," she said. "Hey, do it. I know a lot of people in other cultures want to be in other cultures... straighten their hair, dye their hair a super-white color, fix their eyes in a certain way, fill in their lips. Everyone is trying to fit in, and that's her way... We need to stop judging." So... cultural appropriation is fair game? The former Cosby kid is clearly missing the mark here. Running a flat iron through your hair is hardly the same as adopting another racial background, duping others into believing it, and passing yourself as a victim of racism. If Raven-Symoné's only issue is that Dolezal needs a "better foundation," she's either being clueless or flippant.