Raven-Symone’s image was altered to make her look slimmer in That’s So Raven, it has been claimed.
The actress starred as Raven Baxter in the Disney show in the noughties, and according to author Ashley Spencer’s new book Disney High: The Untold Story Of The Rise And Fall Of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire, there was a scene in an episode that was all about body positivity where CGI was used to make her look thinner. Series co-producer and writer Dava Savel has been quoted as saying that the Disney Channel “was going crazy about” the star’s weight fluctuations.
“And they handled it in really bad ways,” she said. “But it was never to her face.”
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The season two episode – entitled That’s So Not Raven – saw Raven trying different diets before embracing her look and strutting down a catwalk. But according to the book, sources have alleged that a network executive asked that footage of the star’s figure was manipulated and slimmed down using visual effects post-production.
(Image: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“It was shameful,” producer Michael Feldman has been quoted as saying of the incident.
He went on: “I don’t know how they could look at themselves and do that. The very thing that she wanted to do a story about was literally done to her.” “It’s still a shocking thing to me that they were that tone deaf,” he added.
(Image: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Adam Bonnett, who at one time was the head of original programming at the Disney Channel, has been quoted as saying that the decision that was taken was “not something I would have asked for”. He also reportedly recalled another occasion on the hit show where “there was some stuff done to make Raven(‘s attire) look more flattering in certain scenes”.
(Image: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Raven starred in the popular TV series from 2003, when she was 18, until 2007, when she was 22. Her other well-known television credits include The Cosby Show, A Different World and Hangin’ With Mr Cooper. More recently the actress starred in the long-running sitcom Raven’s Home, which aired on the Disney Channel for sex series from 2017 to 2023.
Daily Star has contacted representatives for Raven-Symone and the Disney Channel for comment.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
