Jada Pinkett Smith‘s noticeable disgust over Chris Rock‘s 2022 Oscars joke about her shaved head was understandable. The actress revealed in 2018 that she suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes one’s hair to fall out.
Chris joked, “Jada, can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,” about her look, to which Jada rolled her eyes and looked infuriated. Her husband, Will Smith, rushed the stage and slapped Chris across the face, telling him upon returning to his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”
Jada bravely came forward in May 2018 about how she was suffering from hair loss, after she had taken to wearing turbans and decided to let fans know that it wasn’t just a fashion statement. “It was terrifying when it first started,” the former Gotham star revealed on her Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk.
“I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands, and I was just like, ‘Oh, my God, am I going bald?’” she described to viewers. Jada then explained that it was the reason behind why she gradually cut her hair shorter and shorter. “It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking with fear,” she said. “That’s why I cut my hair and continued to cut it.”
“My hair has been a big part of me,” Jada continued. “Taking care of my hair has been a beautiful ritual and having the choice to have hair or not. And then one day, to be like, ‘Oh my God, I might not have that choice anymore.’”
After her diagnosis, Jada decided to shave her head in July 2021, rocking a completely bald look that she shared with her Instagram followers. She later explained in a September 2021 Red Table Talk episode, “It was just time. I was just ready for that kind of expression and release. I’m so glad I did it. It was such a beautiful experience and such a freedom. I feel more connected to myself and to the great diving in a very special way.”
She’s since embraced the look on red carpets and other events, including the 2022 Oscars. It’s unclear if Chris was aware of Jada’s alopecia battle when he made the ill-fated joke about her shaved head, but judging by the reaction from the actress, her hair loss is no laughing matter.
ON TRYING TO HIDE HER HAIR LOSS
“A lot of people have been asking why I’ve been wearing turbans. Well, I haven’t talked about it. It’s not easy to talk about, but I am going to talk about it,” Jada shared during a May 2018 episode of Red Table Talk about her hair loss battle. She confessed, “It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like ‘Oh my God, am I going bald?’”
HAIRCARE IS A ‘BEAUTIFUL RITUAL’
“My hair has been a big part of me,” Jada told fans in 2018, adding, “Taking care of my hair has been a beautiful ritual and having the choice to have hair or not. And then one day to be like, ‘Oh my God, I might not have that choice anymore.’”
ON SHORTER HAIRSTYLES
“That’s why I cut my hair — and why I continue to cut it. I just had [thought], ‘OK, I think we’re gonna do another layer of cutting,’ you know?” Jada explained about how her hair loss forced her to keep getting shorter haircuts.
KEEPING PERSPECTIVE
“The higher power takes so much from people… and, by golly, if the higher power wants to take your hair. That’s it?” she said in 2018 with a note of positivity. “When I looked at it from that perspective, it really settled me.”
ON ROCKING HEADWEAR
“When my hair is wrapped, I feel like a queen,” Jada has said about wearing turbans, scarves and other headwear to hide her hair loss.
SHAVING HER HEAD
“[Daughter] Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50’s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed,” Jada explained about her freshly shaved head in a July 2021 Instagram snapshot.
THE ‘FREEDOM’ OF HER SHORN HEAD
“It was just time. I was just ready for that kind of expression and release. I’m so glad I did it,” Jada said in September 2021 about shaving her head. “It was such a beautiful experience and such a freedom. I feel more connected to myself and to the great diving in a very special way. I was just like, ‘I’m over it.’ It was that moment. I was just like, ‘I’m done. I’m just done with the worry. I’m done with the care. I’m just done.’”
WILL IS A FAN
“He loves it,” Jada said of husband Will’s feelings about her shaved head during a September 2021 episode of Red Table Talk.
