So often in celebrity, we see stars that we’ve fawned over as children become so unrecognizable into their adulthood. We see them wear years of pain, drugs and other levels of abuse like a daily outfit. Recently, actress, singer and director, Raven-Symone` came under scrutiny (AGAIN) for not considering herself an African-American. So in her case, its not that she’s lost herself, it’s that she knows who she is and has the audacity to claim it.

Addressing an interview she did with Oprah in 2014 on her and her wife’s podcast, tea time with Raven and Miranda, she spoke about her disdain for labels, making the comment, “I am American, I am not African-American.” This comment found her in scalding hot water as people found her comment appalling. Appearing on a recent episode on Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee, she doubled down on this sentiment.

Now, it’s understandable how black America, who fell in love with three-year-old Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show, would feel slighted. Its easy to feel this way after hearing the grown-up Olivia siting these words. However, she never said she wasn’t black, and after really hearing her explanation, its easy to see how she came to her conclusion.

“How long does a bloodline have to live in one land before they are considered a pure species of that land?” she asked Jason Lee. Great question. She went on to speak about, how a true African-American is someone from Africa. I…agree, because, there is literally no way around that. Raven, like a lot us born in America but are considered African-American, get that connection because of our ancestry. Yet, unless we did an Ancestry test, which isn’t probably the best idea right now, most couldn’t tell you which nation in Africa their from. A title was forced on her from a beautiful continent she has no ties to outside of knowing her family line may have been forced here by ship, and she is expected to accept that.

Does there every come a time when you’ve lived in a place long enough that you are considered a native to that land? When you have lived, worked, paid taxes and raised generations on a land, do you have the right to claim it as your homeland? Raven has never lived in Africa, like some many who claim the title of African-American, but how do you claim something you’ve never experienced? So many people disagreed and found disdain in what she said but does she had a point?

In a world where we are constantly labeled and then told how to act accordingly, it’s refreshing to see others knock the status quo with ideas so jarring, it could only make sense.