Raven-Symoné says she underwent multiple cosmetic procedures as a teen due to weight-shaming.
The former "That's So Raven" star, 37, who has never spoken publicly about the surgeries before, said she made the decision to go under the knife as a minor because of body-shaming comments about her weight.
“I had two breast reductions and lipo(suction) before I turned 18,” Raven-Symoné recalled during a recent episode of “The Best Podcast Ever with Raven and Miranda," which she co-hosts with her wife, Miranda Pearman-Maday, 36.
The actor explained that the plastic surgeries began after her father, Christopher Pearman, encouraged her to get a breast reduction. “My dad suggested strongly that I should get my breasts reduced," she said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"He was like, 'So you don’t feel bad, is there anything that you want?’ I was like, 'Yeah, if I get lipo, will people stop calling me fat?'" she recalled, adding, "So I got a twofer."
The former “Cosby Show” star recalled that it was hard for her, both physically and mentally, to undergo the procedures at a such a young age. "It was just a mess, just being that young and the pain of it all, honey," she said.
When Pearman-Maday asked her wife how the recovery went, Raven-Symoné replied that she "disassociated" through it. "The recovery was a little painful. I still have scars. I still have scar tissue to this day," she said.
Entertainment News
Despite the difficulties, the "Cheetah Girls" star later opted to get a second breast reduction. “I gained weight after and had to go back for a quick little bit more out because they were still too big,” she recalled.
Even after undergoing the procedures, Raven-Symoné said she still endured negative comments about her body.
"I still got reamed through social media because I wasn’t skinny as everybody else, and they still called me fat," she recalled. "It's like, you get that done and it’s still not what everybody wanted to see."
During a 2021 interview with People, the former "Raven's Home" star recalled being body-shamed by internet trolls when she was a child.
“There was definitely a seesaw within my mind,” she recalled. "I prevailed over it because at the end of the day, it’s like, ‘Come on, people, everybody’s a different size.'"
The actor said at the time that she was learning to embrace herself after years of feeling pressure to conform.
“My whole life is kind of based on what the industry wants,” she said. “Other people controlled my hair, my eyebrows, my clothing, my words, everything.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
