Jada Pinkett Calls Her Alopecia Diagnosis a Great Teacher after Oscar Slap Controversy
“I learned a lot about detachment,” Pinkett Smith said. “And I learned a deeper beauty within myself, being able to let my hair go.”
American actress Jada Pinkett Smith was a subject of Chris Rock’s joke during the Academy Awards ceremony in March 2022. Chris Rock had joked about Jada Pinkett’s shaved head and compared her look to Demi Moore’s G I Jane’s character.
We all know what happened next. Will Smith couldn’t bear the joke directed at his wife and he goes onto the stage and slaps Oscar Presenter Chris Rock. The whole issue had turned into a huge controversy.
Jada suffers from Alopecia, a condition that results in hair loss and she has been open about her autoimmune disorder. The condition has changed the way she perceives beauty, says the American actress. She moved beyond the superficial aspects of her being and instead focused on the internal.
During a recent interview with The Guardian which was published on Friday, the actress was asked if she learned anything after her autoimmune disease gained spotlight during the Academy Awards ceremony.
“I learned a lot about detachment,” Pinkett Smith said. “And I learned a deeper beauty within myself, being able to let my hair go.”
“It’s been a hard one, a scary one — because specifically as Black women, we identify so much of ourselves with our hair. And it was scary. I had to really dig deep and see the beauty of myself beyond my aesthetics.”
She called her diagnosis a “great teacher.”
Jada Pinkett is also working to bring to light powerful stories of female African rulers to the forefront. Her upcoming docuseries ‘African Queens’ will be releasing soon on Netflix. The first episode focuses on Njinga ; a warrior queen of Ndongo and Matamba which is present day Angola.
In a press release Executive Producer Jada said that it is important to bring the black experience stories to audiences as we can do so now and haven’t been able to do so in the past.