‘That’s So Raven’: Adrienne Bailon Left the Show Because of Behind-the-Scenes Drama
The Disney Channel sitcom, That’s So Raven aired between 2003 and 2007. This Disney Channel hit starred Raven-Symoné as the psychic teenager Raven Baxter. In season two of That’s So Raven, Adrienne Bailon entered the mix, playing Alana Rivera’s character. Alana and Raven were natural enemies on and off the show. What was Adrienne Bailon’s role on the show, her beef with Raven-Symoné, and what is she doing now?
A brief stint on ‘That’s So Raven’
Adrienne Bailon played Alana Rivera on four episodes of That’s So Raven. However, her character is well remembered for being Raven Baxter’s nemesis and her iconic catchphrase, “Baxter, you’re breathing my air.” Alana and her two sidekicks, Loca and Muffy, always seemed to be at odds with Raven and her two best friends, Chelsea and Eddie. The fighting got so bad between the two crews that they all almost got suspended for their behavior at one point in the show.
Alana exits That’s So Raven after just four episodes. In the show’s storyline, Alana is sent to military school for her bad behavior. Her crew is now under the leadership of Bianca, played by Erica Rivera, who was “so bad she got kicked out of military school.” On the show, it seemed like Alana left to go to military school. However, the real reason the character was written out of the show was because of off-screen drama.
Adrienne Bailon’s beef with Raven-Symoné
According to Screen Rant, Adrienne Bailon and Raven-Symoné had unresolved drama from their time together on the Disney television movie The Cheetah Girls, and this drama bled into their working relationship on That’s So Raven.
Adrienne Bailon and Raven-Symoné, along with Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan, starred together in the 2003 Disney Channel film The Cheetah Girls. With the first film being such a success, The Cheetah Girls 2 was released in 2006. All four girls returned to film the second movie. When the third film, The Cheetah Girls: One World, was released in 2008, Raven-Symoné did not join the cast.
According to ET Online, Raven-Symoné explained over a decade later why she didn’t join the cast for the third film with the statement, “The cliquish way that there was during that movie made me feel excluded from my original team. Not that it was strong to begin with, but I felt excluded… we have other things that just led up to that moment that just were weird, personal outside of business.”
From Raven-Symoné comments, it seems like there were many hurt feelings between the teenage girls. This friction ultimately led to both Adrienne Bailon leaving That’s So Raven and Raven-Symoné leaving The Cheetah Girls prematurely.
What’s life like today for Adrienne Bailon?
With both women now in their 30s, it seems like Raven-Symoné and Adrienne Bailon have been able to bury the hatchet when it comes to their teenage drama. In 2015, Raven-Symoné even guest-starred on Bailon’s talk show The Real.
The ladies have strengthened their friendship so much that Bailon has even made it known that she would love Raven-Symoné to become a co-host on The Real. According to ET Online, Bailon recently made this statement on The Real concerning Raven-Symoné becoming a regular co-host on the show, “I mean, I would love that, obviously ’cause she’s my cheetah sister. Chuchie and Bubbles will be together forever, but I think that would be amazing.”
Along with co-hosting The Real since 2013, Bailon has been up to quite a lot since her days on That’s So Raven and The Cheetah Girls. After dating Rob Kardashian for two years, Bailon began dating Lenny Santiago, a music executive. The couple got engaged in February 2015 after dating for six years.
However, they ultimately split in September 2015, calling off their engagement altogether. Bailon quickly moved on from Santiago, marrying musician Israel Houghton in November 2016. The couple is still going strong, and they have both been working on their music careers.
In 2019, Bailon appeared on The Masked Singer, coming in third place on the show’s second season. All-in-all, both Bailon and Raven-Symoné have grown tremendously since the days of their teenage spats. Only time will tell if they will be able to put any differences they may still have aside to work together in a professional environment today.
Related: Are Raven Symoné and Adrienne Bailon Still Friends? Here’s Where They Stand Today
