A Disney Channel co-producer and writer claims that Raven-Symoné’s body was edited to appear thinner during an episode of That’s So Raven that was centered around body positivity. Dava Savel made the claims in Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel’s Tween Empire, a book written by Ashley Spencer. According to E! News, Dava says that Disney channel wasn’t fond of the fluctuating weight of Raven’s 18-year-old body, and they “handled it in really bad ways. But it was never to her face.”
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It happened on the show's second season.
The episode titled “That’s So Not Raven,” which aired during season 2 of the show, depicts the character Raven Baxter try various diets after having another model chosen over her for a fashion show due to the model being thinner. Raven ultimately decides that she doesn’t need to change. She then walks in the fashion show embracing herself as-is.
Insiders claim the show's network executive requested Raven's figure to be slimmed down.
In the book, multiple insiders said that the show’s network executive made the request for Raven’s body to be slimmed down during her runway scene by using visual effects. “It was shameful,” producer Michael Feldman said. “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.”
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The technique was also used in other episodes.
Adam Bonnett, Disney Channel’s former head of original programming, revealed in the book that the slimming technique was also used in other episodes later on. “There was some stuff done to make [her attire] look more flattering in certain scenes,” he said, referring to an episode where she goes to a dance.
Raven had work done to her body during the show.
In a 2023 episode of her and her wife’s podcast, The Best Podcast Ever with Raven and Miranda, the actress revealed that she went under the knife before turning 18 because of the shame she was receiving about her weight. “I had two breast reductions and lipo before I turned 18,” she said. Her wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday, asked her why, and she admitted that it was because of her dad. “There was paperwork involved,” Raven recalled, according to Page Six. “My dad suggested strongly that I should get my breasts reduced.”
She experienced pain because of her weight being ridiculed.
Continuing on, Raven recalled her dad asking if there was anything she wanted. “I was like, ‘Yeah, if I get lipo, will people stop calling me fat?’ So I got a twofer. It was just a mess, just being that young and the pain of it all.”
