Woman with alopecia from Chris Rock film slams him for Oscars joke: ‘Shame on you’

A girl with alopecia, who appeared in a 2009 documentary produced by Chris Rock, condemned the comic Monday for making a hair joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, who has the identical situation.

Not lengthy after Will Smith slapped Rock on the Oscars award ceremony Sunday for evaluating Pinkett Smith’s shaved head to Demi Moore’s coiffure within the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” a clip from the comedian’s movie “Good Hair” started making the rounds on social media.

Within the video, Rock listens intently as inside designer Sheila Bridges particulars her struggles with hair loss attributable to alopecia. Bridges and Pinkett Smith each have alopecia areata — a illness that happens when the physique’s immune system assaults hair follicles, usually on the scalp or face, however generally on different elements of the physique. Generally hair falls out in chunks and solely partial baldness outcomes. Different instances hair grows again, however repeated bouts of baldness may also happen.

“Whereas I don’t condone violence (or what Will Smith did), I’m not fully shocked that Chris Rock obtained rocked by Will Smith after making the medical situation of @jadapinkettsmith a part of his comedic schtick — disrespecting her publicly,” Bridges wrote on Instagram.

“Disgrace on you @chrisrock. Didn’t we sit down and speak at size about how painfully humiliating and tough it’s to navigate life as a bald girl in a society that’s hair obsessed? As if life isn’t difficult sufficient out right here as an unprotected black girl?”

It’s unclear if Rock was conscious of Pinkett Smith’s expertise with alopecia earlier than making enjoyable of the actor, who has been vocal about her hair loss on social media and her hit Fb Watch sequence “Pink Desk Speak.”

Regardless, the quip was ill-received — particularly by “King Richard” star Smith, who rushed the Oscars stage and smacked Rock within the face earlier than twice shouting, “Maintain my spouse’s title out your f— mouth!”

On Monday, Smith apologized to Rock for his “unacceptable and inexcusable” conduct.

“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, however a joke about Jada’s medical situation was an excessive amount of for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith wrote. “I used to be out of line and I used to be mistaken.”

Along with casting a shadow over the Oscars ceremony, Smith’s violent outburst additionally shed new mild on alopecia, which Bridges mentioned greater than a decade in the past in “Good Hair.”

For Rock’s comedic documentary about hair tradition within the Black group, Bridges opened up about her journey with the illness.

“I selected to not put on a wig for various causes,” Bridges says within the movie. “I by no means needed to really feel like I used to be hiding one thing. I needed to take care of accepting who you might be and looking out within the mirror and feeling as if you’re lovely and bonafide. …

“I believe the rationale hair’s so vital is as a result of our self-worth is wrapped up in it. It’s like a sort of forex for us — regardless that these requirements are fully unrealistic and unattainable, particularly for Black ladies.”

On a 2018 episode of “Pink Desk Speak,” Pinkett Smith shared her ideas on hair loss and the way the situation has affected her emotionally. In July 2021, the “Ladies Journey” star determined to totally embrace her baldness by shaving her head alongside together with her daughter, Willow Smith.

“It was terrifying when it first began,” Pinkett Smith stated.

“I used to be within the bathe at some point, after which simply handfuls of hair — simply in my arms — and I used to be like, ‘Oh, my God, am I going bald?’ It was a kind of instances in my life the place I used to be actually shaking with concern. That’s a very scary expertise.”

The Related Press contributed to this report.