That’s So Ravens star named herself, Hilary Duff, Shia LaBeouf and the late Lee Thompson Young as her four Disney Channel Mount Rushmore picks
Raven Symoné has spent enough time in the Disney Channel universe to have earned a strong opinion on who deserves to be carved into its mountain and in a March 10 interview with The Shade Room, she delivered one. The That’s So Raven star named her four picks for the Disney Channel Mount Rushmore, and the list includes a heartfelt tribute to a performer who is no longer here to receive it.
Symoné is herself one of the defining figures of the Disney Channel’s 2000s era. She helped carry the network through that decade with her work on Kim Possible, the Cheetah Girls franchise, her own flagship series and later Raven’s Home a body of work that gives her as much standing as anyone to make this kind of call.
The 4 stars who made the cut
Symoné’s Disney Rushmore includes herself alongside three peers she believes shaped the network’s identity at its most culturally significant moment.
Raven Symoné placed herself on the mountain without hesitation, a decision her body of work more than supports. She arrived at Disney Channel after gaining fame as Olivia on The Cosby Show and went on to become one of the network’s most versatile and enduring presences across multiple projects and formats.
Hilary Duff earned her spot as the face of one of Disney’s most beloved franchises. Lizzie McGuire defined a generation of young viewers relationship with the network, and Duff became one of the era’s most recognizable and commercially successful stars both during and after her Disney tenure.
Shia LaBeouf made the list on the strength of his Disney Channel work, particularly Even Stevens, which established him as one of the network’s most naturally gifted young performers before he transitioned to a much broader Hollywood career that included the Transformers franchise and a string of critically recognized dramatic roles.
Lee Thompson Young received what may be the most meaningful inclusion on the list. Symoné named Young specifically for his portrayal of the titular character in The Famous Jett Jackson, a Disney Channel Original Series that ran from 1998 to 2001 and followed a teenage actor navigating the tension between fame and a normal life. Symoné described the show as the first Black led series on Disney Channel a piece of television history she felt obligated to acknowledge alongside Young’s performance within it.
Young continued acting after his Disney years, appearing in Friday Night Lights, Rizzoli & Isles and The Hills Have Eyes 2, among other projects. He died by suicide in August 2013 at 29 years old. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.
Why Miley Cyrus did not make the list
Cyrus came up during Symoné’s brainstorming and was briefly considered before being left off the final four. The reasoning Symoné offered was rooted in timing rather than talent, Cyrus arrived at Disney after the era Symoné was specifically honoring. The Rushmore, in her framing, belongs to the generation that built the network’s foundational identity in the early 2000s and Cyrus, despite her own significant impact through Hannah Montana, came to prominence later in the decade.
Symoné made clear the decision carried no personal dimension. She expressed genuine warmth toward Cyrus while holding firmly to the era based criteria she applied across all four selections. The mountain, as she described it, has a specific historical boundary and that boundary is where Miley‘s candidacy ended.
A list that functions as a small act of historical record
What elevates Symoné’s Rushmore beyond a standard celebrity ranking exercise is the intentionality behind Lee Thompson Young’s inclusion. By specifically naming Young and identifying his show as Disney Channel’s first Black led series, Symoné ensured that his contribution to the network’s story becomes part of the current conversation rather than a detail that fades further into the background with time.
For a performer whose life ended at 29 and whose later career never reached the heights his early talent suggested, the acknowledgment from one of Disney Channel’s most enduring voices carries meaning that extends well beyond a casual interview. Symoné did not just put Lee Thompson Young on a list she made the case for why he belongs in the conversation about what Disney Channel was and what it meant.