Two nights ago, what will go down in history as possibly the most controversial and memorable moment of any Oscars ceremony occurred. What is disappointing, however, is that it’ll be remembered for the wrong reasons. When Chris Rock insulted Jada Pinkett Smith with a joke about her shaved head, saying “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” Will Smith went up to the stage and slapped Rock in the middle of his speech: the rest is now history. Whilst violence and assault is certainly never justified or excusable, the media attention was all centered around, in our opinion, the wrong moment. The internet has exploded with reactions to Will Smith’s response, and people have been debating whether or not he was in the wrong. We couldn’t help but ask ourselves, what about the true victim in all of this: Jada Pinkett Smith? Why has no one payed attention or thought to question how she may have felt over the insensitive remark made about her?
It may be a man’s world in Hollywood but we were curious to get the opinion of someone who has also suffered from hair-loss as a result of an illness, which is why we asked Tracey Massoud, a Lebanese woman who has been suffering from Lupus from the age of 11. The autoimmune disease occurs when someone’s immune system attacks your tissues and organs. Symptoms of the disease include joint pain, skin rashes, organ damage as well as hair loss. Massoud is also the founder of Lebanese Lupus Association, a support group where other patients of the disease come together to create a safe community and environment. Below, Tracey opens up about her personal experience with hair loss and shares her thoughts of the unsettling incident at the Oscars that transpired between Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith.
What did you think about the Will Smith x Chris Rock drama? How did it make you feel that Will had done this on behalf of defending his wife’s alopecia?
While I’m against any form of violence, I believe the joke Chris made was as brutal and inappropriate as the punch was; the only difference is that he was on the offense while Will was on the defense. Could it have been handled in a better way? Of course. And maybe it would have been much better if Chris knew the limits that even a comedian must have.
In fact, the slap that he felt on his face is exactly how every single girl or woman struggling with alopecia felt while he used Jada’s medical condition as some joke material.
Well, this is a tragedy for most women who suffer from it, and allowing himself to be in such a reputable event that more than a dozen million watch, what kind of example is he giving? All the work done to evolve and overcome bias, stereotypes, social attributions would be gone in vain if people with such reach behave the same.
The question to ask here: If Jada was blonde with straight hair, would he have joked about waiting to see her in a new Legally Blonde movie? Or if she had long black hair, would he have thought of her in a Wonder Woman movie? No!
It’s funny how our human brain can understand the most progressive concepts and events like flying to the moon which sounds so unreal, but yet more find it more difficult to accept a woman with a bald head for instance.
What has the reaction been in your community to Jada Pinkett Smith?
I’ve seen many people voicing out how inappropriate that was and especially women suffering from the same condition. But I also saw many posts and comments missing the whole point because they didn’t even know what was the real reason for the punch. Most of the pages used a catchy headline to highlight a scandal missing out totally on the actual point. We need more people to be vocal about that as I personally believe it was totally inappropriate.
Do you feel like this incident is going to shine a light on the struggles that women with hair loss conditions deal with?
Well I hope it does and I hope more magazines like yours tackle the subject not for gossip purposes, but to raise awareness on auto immune diseases and alopecia in this case.
The discourse around body positivity and facial beauty standards is rife – but it still feels like speaking about hair loss is a taboo subject. Do you think we need moments like this in pop culture and in Hollywood to raise the awareness?
It is so true that hair loss is still a taboo subject not only for women but also for men. Having people of influence speak about it can definitely help societies gain more awareness and hence, acceptance of the topic. I also believe that brands can do a lot in this scope.
Seeing more women and men on TV embracing and acing their hair loss could also definitely help in normalising the taboo around the subject.
I mean it would be great to reach a point in my life to walk across the street without being stared at or being hammered with questions or being asked for a picture or if it’s okay to touch my head.
People don’t realise how intrusive that is because they don’t know any better and it definitely is crucial to be more vocal about such subjects.
Are there any celebs who you look up to that support women with hair loss conditions?
I’m honestly not aware of anyone except Jada Pinkett Smith who was vocal about her journey and struggle. I hope this incident would encourage more people of influence to join the talk.
What do you want to see next from Hollywood and celebrities moving forward, now that this was happened?
I think Hollywood and the filming industry put a lot of importance on physical appearance. We’ve seen in the last years a lot of inclusion initiatives, but it’s still a long way to go. Hair loss is definitely not on their agenda I guess, but is something that I definitely wish to see. A bald super hero woman!
