Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals Lessons From Alopecia Amid Oscars 2022 Slap Scandal

Jada Pinkett Smith addressed the issue at the heart of the slap – the sound that echoed around the world nearly a year ago at the 2022 Oscars, when her husband Will Smith took the stage after comedian Chris Rock made a joke in which he focused on Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair.

Pinkett Smith broke her silence on the subject to tell Britain’s Guardian how she feels about her autoimmune disease and the alopecia it causes, making her the subject of a global scandal.

Today she says: “I learned a lot about distance. And I found a deeper beauty in me to be able to let my hair down.

“It was a difficult, scary question – because we, especially as black women, identify so much with our hair. And it was scary. I had to really dig deep and see the beauty of myself beyond my aesthetic.

In the same interview, Pinkett Smith, who produces and narrates new Netflix docuseries African queensfocused on royal figures from African history – also discusses how she had to navigate the entertainment industry 30 years ago, when she saw far fewer black faces around her.

She said: “Even something as simple as coming into the game at such a young age and how I had to deal with the need to be ‘less black.’ How do you navigate people who are threatened by your blackness? I have to really not taking it personally and understanding, ‘Okay, this is the country I’m in right now. How do I navigate that without letting their discomfort with my blackness get to me?’ It’s a damn hard thing.”

“It’s something that can either make you bitter, or it’s something you can look at, not take personally, and then do something about.

“You’re always making these compromises that you hope won’t pull you completely away from your roots. It’s the difference between being confused and being swallowed by someone else to get what you need. It’s about being clear about who you are.”

African queens debuts February 15 on Netflix.