Raven-Symoné to Oprah: ‘I Don’t Want to Be Labeled Gay; I’m Not an African American.'

In a "Where Are They Now?" segment with Oprah Winfrey, The Cosby Show and That's So Raven star, Raven-Symone, said that she refuses to be labeled as gay or African American.

It all started when Oprah brought up a tweet Raven sent out in August 2013. In reference to the Supreme Court ruling that the federal ban on same sex marriage was unconstitutional, the actress tweeted: "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you." Oprah flat out asked Raven if that was her way of coming out.

"That was my way of saying I'm proud of the country," Raven replied. "But, I will say that I'm in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman. On the other side, my mother and people in my family, they've taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. So, I try my best to hold the fence where I can. But I am proud to be who I am and what I am."

Oprah then asked when she knew that she was attracted to women.

"I knew when I was, like, 12," explained the 28-year old actress. "I was looking at everything." Oprah asked if she was "looking at boys and girls," to which Raven replied, "Yes ma'am."

It was when the subject then moved to labeling herself that Raven stated she rejected such terms."I don't want to be labeled 'gay.' I want to be labeled 'a human who loves humans.' "

"I'm tired of being labeled," she said. "I'm an American. I'm not an African American; I'm an American."

Oprah, a little shocked and aware of how her statement might be construed, asked Raven to clarify.

"I mean, I don't know where my roots go to," Raven explained. "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 again reminded Raven about the impact of her statement. "You're going to get a lot of flak for saying you're not African American. You know that, right?"

Raven confidently replied, "I don't label myself. 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."

"You are a melting pot in one body," Winfrey suggested.

"Aren't we all?" Raven replied. "Isn't that what America's supposed to be?"

[h/t E!]