Raven-Symoné revealed a surprising confession.
In the new documentary Light Girls (the sequel to the Dark Girls documentary that premiered on OWN in 2013), light-skinned African-American women open up about their experiences with colorism, the former Disney star confessed that she used to tan multiple times a week to try and darken her skin while shooting That's So Raven.
"When I had my own show, I used to tan three or four times a week in a tanning bed to get darker," she said. "I did."
However, the actress was asked to stop because of the way it was affecting production.
"It's funny, one of the lighting guys came up—I love him to death; I love him, oh my goodness—he goes, 'Raven, I need you to stop tanning. You're getting too dark, and we have to re-light the whole entire show,'" Raven recalls. "I was like, 'Sorry. I was just trying to be pretty.'"
During a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey for OWN's Where Are They Now?, the College Road Trip star said she was sick of "being labeled," particularly in regard to her sexual orientation and her race. "I'm an American," the actress told a shocked Winfrey. "I'm not an African American; I'm an American."
"Oh, girl," Winfrey said. "Don't set up Twitter on fire...Oh, my lord. What did you just say?"
The actress replied, "I mean, I don't know where my roots go to. I don't know how far back they go...I don't know what country in Africa I'm from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I'm an American. And that's a colorless person." Winfrey feared Raven would "get a lot of flack" for saying she's not African American, but the actress said, "I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with Black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture."
Winfrey was right, and Raven ended up receiving some heat for her statements, which she later clarified to E! News.
"I never said I wasn't black," the star told us in a statement. "I want to make that very clear. I said, 'I am not African American.' I never expected my personal beliefs and comments to spark such emotion in people. I think it is only positive when we can openly discuss race and being labeled in America."
Light Girls airs Monday, Jan. 19, at 9 p.m. on OWN.