Raven-Symoné selects her Disney Channel Mount Rushmore, choosing Hilary Duff, Shia LaBeouf, and the late Lee Thompson Young—omitting Miley Cyrus and igniting conversation about who truly defines the network’s golden era.
The perennial fan debate over which former Disney Channel stars deserve a spot on the network’s symbolic Mount Rushmore just got a definitive—and controversial—take from a first-generation icon. In a new interview, Raven-Symoné, who headlined 100 episodes of That’s So Raven, named her personal top four, a list that notably excludes Miley Cyrus in favor of honoring a pioneering star who passed away too soon.
According to the interview with Stepping Into the Shade Room, host Thembi Mawema framed the question around fan-discussed candidates like Hilary Duff, Zendaya, Keke Palmer, and Shia LaBeouf. Raven’s response was both specific and steeped in historical context.
The Four Selections: A Mix of Peers and a Pioneer
Raven didn’t hesitate: “I would say me, Hilary, Shia,” she began, before adding her fourth and most pointed choice. When Mawema suggested Miley Cyrus, Raven interjected: “No, not Miley. I love you, Miley, but not Miley, she came after.” Instead, Raven reserved the final slot for Lee Thompson Young, star of The Famous Jett Jackson.
Her reasoning was a masterclass in acknowledging Disney Channel’s evolution: “He is no longer with us, but he was the first Black show on Disney. So Lee Thompson Young played the famous Jett Jackson, and I believe he should be on Disney Rushmore. He definitely deserves a spot.” This statement, captured in the interview [source], reframes the conversation from pure popularity to foundational impact and representation.
Why Lee Thompson Young’s Inclusion Changes the Conversation
Lee Thompson Young’s selection is more than a sentimental tribute; it’s a deliberate correction to the historical narrative. He headlined all 65 episodes of The Famous Jett Jackson (1998–2001), a series that marked a milestone as Disney Channel’s first with a Black lead character. His work extended to the network’s original movie Jett Jackson: The Movie and the DCOM Johnny Tsunami. After Disney, he built a respected career in films like Friday Night Lights and Akeelah and the Bee, and TV series such as FlashForward and Rizzoli & Isles, before his tragic death by suicide in 2013.
By placing Young on her Mount Rushmore, Raven-Symoné elevates the significance of being a “first.” She implicitly argues that the Rushmore must honor those who broke barriers during Disney Channel’s formative years, not just those who achieved stratospheric fame later. This aligns with a growing fan-driven reappraisal of early 2000s Disney Channel programming, where shows like The Famous Jett Jackson are celebrated for their progressive casting but often overlooked in mainstream “best of” lists dominated by late-2000s phenoms.
The Other Three: Core Titans of the Disney Empire
The other three names on Raven’s list are broadly expected yet firmly justified:
- Hilary Duff: The global face of Lizzie McGuire (65 episodes, 2001–2004), which defined the early 2000s tween experience. Duff also starred in the DCOM Cadet Kelly and released multiple albums on Disney’s label.
- Shia LaBeouf: The charismatic star of Even Stevens (65 episodes, 2000–2003) and its follow-up movie. His early career was deeply rooted in Disney Channel, including voice work on The Proud Family and DCOMs like Hounded.
- Raven-Symoné herself: The only one on the list to star in a Disney Channel series, its successful spinoff (Raven’s Home, 122 episodes), multiple DCOMs (The Cheetah Girls), and major voice roles (Kim Possible). Her sustained presence across decades makes her an indisputable fixture.
Each of these stars embodied the network’s model at its peak: a multi-platform engine building actors, musicians, and franchises from a single series.
The Omissions: A Generation-Spanning Snub List
Raven’s Rushmore, by definition, leaves out a staggering number of Disney Channel alumni who are frequently in the fan conversation. Those excluded include Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place), Demi Lovato (Camp Rock), the Jonas Brothers, Brenda Song (The Suite Life franchise), Sabrina Carpenter, Zac Efron and the entire High School Musical cast, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, and Aly & AJ.
Raven’s justification for excluding Miley Cyrus—“she came after”—is a blunt acknowledgment of timeline. Hannah Montana premiered in 2006, after That’s So Raven (2003) and Lizzie McGuire (2001). While Cyrus’s cultural impact is arguably greater than any other Disney Channel graduate, Raven’s criteria prioritize the foundational era (late ’90s to mid-2000s) over the peak commercial era (mid-2000s to early 2010s). This is a values-based choice, not a popularity contest.
Why This Matters Now: Legacy vs. Influence
Raven-Symoné’s comments arrive at a moment of intense nostalgia for Disney Channel’s “golden age,” with reboots, revivals, and constant social media celebration of early 2000s programming. Her Rushmore forces a distinction between two types of legacy:
- The Pioneering Legacy: Stars like Lee Thompson Young and Hilary Duff who helped define the channel’s identity during its rapid expansion and were central to its original, stage-setting hits.
- The Phenomenon Legacy: Stars like Miley Cyrus and the High School Musical cast who propelled Disney Channel to unprecedented global saturation and mainstream media dominance.
By privileging the former, Raven-Symoné argues that the “Rushmore” should enshrine those who were there at the creation, when the channel’s model was being invented. This perspective gains weight when considering that Lee Thompson Young’s role in The Famous Jett Jackson represented a critical step in Disney’s on-screen diversity, a fact documented in the network’s historical programming records [source].
The discussion also highlights how Disney Channel’s ecosystem has changed. Raven’s own career, spanning That’s So Raven to Raven’s Home, exemplifies long-term network loyalty—a trait less common in the post-Hannah Montana era where stars often transition to broader Hollywood careers more quickly.
For fans, this isn’t just a game of favorites. It’s a debate about what we value in youth entertainment: the quiet, foundational work of building a brand, or the loud, world-conquering success that followed. Raven-Symoné, as both a peer and a historian of the channel, grounds her picks in the former. Her exclusion of Miley Cyrus isn’t a diss; it’s a delineation of eras. And her elevation of Lee Thompson Young is a necessary reminder that Disney Channel’s history includes pivotal breakthroughs that deserve centering in any “greatest” conversation.
In an era of endless reboots and retrospectives, this Mount Rushmore debate is about more than rankings—it’s about whose stories we choose to monumentalize when we look back at a cultural institution.
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