During what seemed like a relatively tame Oscar night, actor Chris Rock was on stage about to present the award for this year’s Best Documentary. He then set out to make what seemed like a lighthearted joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of actor Will Smith. His comment alluded to her baldness making her suitable for the making of a “G.I. Jane, 2.” The original movie, “G.I. Jane” released in 1997, starred Demi Moore as a female entering a U.S. Navy Combined Reconnaissance Team. Her character shaves her head, in effort to reduce gender bias in Navy special operations. Chris Rock’s comment about Jada Pinkett Smith, who recently went public and shared her hair loss story as due to a condition called alopecia, was not well-received by Mr. Smith.
Well, that’s an understatement.
Will Smith promptly walked right on stage, punched Chris Rock in the face, and, to the television audience, the words were muted for about 20 seconds. Smith shouted at Rock after the punch, which included a fair amount of expletives about keeping Will’s wife out of Chris’s mouth. Viewers across the world woke up from this sedate event, with some very strong feelings in response to both actors’ behaviors.
Just a few months ago, Jada Pinkett Smith opened up publicly about her struggle with an autoimmune disorder called alopecia, or hair loss. What began as several hairless patches on her scalp extended to more, and she made the decision to shave her hair completely, as well as to share her story with the world. She embraced it, and even lightened the serious nature by suggesting she’d add rhinestones to the most visible area of hair loss.
But while she tried to make a bit of light on it, the issue was not a joke to her when made on stage by Chris Rock. Her husband Will Smith didn’t find Rock’s joke funny at all.
Alopecia is a condition where the body attacks hair follicle cells, blocking hair growth. There are several types of alopecia, including alopecia areata, where there are patches of bald spots on the head, alopecia totalis, with complete hair loss of the scalp, and alopecia universalis, with hair loss over the entire hair-baring skin of the body.
Alopecia occurs in both men and women, and typically occurs rather suddenly by patchy areas of hair loss throughout the scalp. There is no known cause, although there may be a genetic predisposition and it is seen more commonly in individuals with other autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis, thyroid disease, or vitiligo (patches of pigment loss on the skin). In many cases, hair regrows on its own, but often, especially if seen in young children, medical treatments such as steroids, immunotherapy or immune suppressants may be treatment options.
To add a final level of excitement to this unforgettable Oscar night, Will Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams in the film “King Richard.”
He tearfully likened his actions protecting his wife, Jada, to the powerful sense of protection Richard Williams felt towards his family. He also apologized to the Academy of Motion Pictures (although not outwardly to Chris Rock). Some are cheering his fierce sense of familial honor and protection, while others are vehemently expressing that his behavior was repugnant, and an absolute disgrace, as both physical violence and verbal abuse were so quickly brought on stage, and may even be seen as heroic.
Jada Pinkett Smith has embraced her condition publicly, but it is hers to share, and her own facial expression as her response to Chris Rock’s joke made it clear that it was out of line, at least in her mind as well as Will’s. The upshot of Will Smith’s slap in the face to Chris Rock remains to be seen. But if nothing else, the world now knows more about alopecia, and hopefully some sensitivity to those living with this condition will increase, jokes, expletives, and jaw punches aside.
