Thousands Demand ‘The View ’ Host Be Fired For Saying Kids Should Obey School Rules

Raven Symone, co-host of ABC talkshow “The View ”, drew the scorn of thousands after expressing support for a South Carolina police officer who pulled a student from her desk after she refused to put away her phone.

Symone said on “The View ” last week if the girl in the viral video had listened to her teacher, prior to the police officer showing up, the whole situation would likely have been avoided.

“I think it’s important that we all understand what happened and we don’t know everything. First, she was asked by multiple teachers to put her phone away or to leave the room. We don’t know if she popped off at the mouth. We don’t know what she said, but she did not get up. They called him as a last resort. He talked to her for 30 seconds and she still didn’t get up. She still didn’t put the phone away. You do not need to be manhandling a child that way but at the same time, kids, put your phones away.”

Those comments set off a firestorm on the Internet, and, as of Monday morning, nearly 130,000 people signed a petition addressed to Barbara Walters, executive producer of “The View,” demanding Symone be fired.

“African Americans and black people around the diaspora need a voice representative of their views and not a voice representative of what white people want us to say,” the petition reads. “We need strong black rolemodels in prominent positions on television an Raven Symone cannot provide that.”

The petition’s author, Che Scott-Heron, also mentions other times when Symone made comments that don’t exactly mesh with what she thinks a strong black role model should say.

Last month, while discussing a new study that shows people discriminate against others based on their names, Symone said she would never hire someone with a “ghetto” name.

“I’m not about to hire you if your name is Watermelondrea,” she said. “It’s just not going to happen. I’m not going to hire you.”

ABC is standing behind its contentious host, though. A network spokesperson said in a statement the tv station thinks Symone is “a great addition” to the show’s cast and she isn’t going anywhere, CNN reports.

“We love Raven. She is confident, genuine and opinionated, all qualities that make her a great addition to the panel,” the statement reads.

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