Raven-Symoné was only the 'sidekick' in first That's So Raven script, says costar Anneliese van der Pol
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That's So Raven actress Anneliese van der Pol gazed into the... past, for a shocking revelation about the history of the beloved Disney Channel sitcom about a teen psychic in San Francisco.
The former child star reflected on the very, very different version of the show she initially auditioned for at the age of 15 during an appearance on the newest episode of Vulnerable, a podcast hosted by fellow Disney star and Even Stevens actress Christy Carlson Romano.
"When I went into audition, the show as called Absolutely Psychic — it wasn't called That's So Raven at all," said van der Pol, who eventually co-starred on the series as Chelsea, Raven's supportive best friend. "At the time, Raven wasn't the lead, she was the sidekick. They were looking for a lead. I came in to audition for the lead. I think the character's name was Molly. I auditioned and a couple other people auditioned. I didn't get the part — somebody else got the part — but when they filmed, they realized that Raven was the funniest one and had a following, and so they bumped her up to first position and started auditioning people again."
Van der Pol recalled that the network held auditions once again after shifting the story to focus on the character of Raven.
"I went in to a big cattle call and I finally got the part," she said of booking the gig. "I think the character's name was like, Molly, then Emma, and then it became Chelsea. And I think it was kind of like racism at a low level, if that's even a possibility. They couldn't really see a Black girl leading a show."
Romano pressed van der Pol on the topic, asking, "Not initially?" to which her guest responded, "Yeah, they saw her as a sidekick." Romano then summarized her feelings on the issue by chalking it up to a money move: "With Disney, it's like, it's not personal, it's business," she said.
Representatives at Disney did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
That's So Raven ran from 2003 to 2007 and went on to become one of the most popular sitcoms in Disney Channel history. It later inspired a sequel series, Raven's Home, which is still in production following its 2017 debut.
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Anneliese van der Pol, Orlando Brown, and Raven-Symoné on 'That's So Raven'
"It didn't impact me as much then as it does now because I was 15," Raven-Symoné recently told EW of becoming history's youngest Black female to have a show named after her at the time. "I was like, 'Cool, I got my own show.' It means so much now because I understand the [gravity] of what it means and the caliber of humans that I am in the pool with. I think it was kind of a good thing that I didn't let it go to my head. It was just about working and wanting to create great content at the time."
Listen to the former Disney Channel stars discuss That's So Raven — all episodes of which are streaming on Disney+ — in the podcast episode above.
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