Alopecia Is Never Funny: Here’s Why Chris Rock’s ‘G.I. Jane’ Joke Hit A Nerve With Will & Jada

Will Smith, one of America’s favorite family-friendly funnymen walked up and pimp smapped (read: slapped and smacked) Chris Rock onstage, live, at the Oscars on Sunday night. Almost everyone thought it was a skit – until Smith started yelling expletives at Rock.

[SEE ALSO: These Doctors Just Received A $200K Grant To Study Crown Hair Loss In Black Women]

It turns out Smith was protecting his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith – and the reason went over most people’s heads. That’s because Jada, who has been proudly rocking a bald buzzed cut for the past year, is dealing with alopecia. 

Those suffering from alopecia, aka hair loss, typically don’t see it as a laughing matter. In fact, it can be quite debilitating, leading to anxiety, depression, and, even, social phobias. So, when Rock joked about Jada starring in a G.I., Jane sequel (the original featured a bald Demi Moore), it hurt. You could see Jada’s immediate grimace. 

The Red Table Talk host has been open about her battle with alopecia since 2018 when she revealed her fear of not just losing her hair, but also the choice of whether to simply have hair. 

“I’ve been having issues with hair loss,” she revealed on Red Table Talk in 2018. “It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and then handfuls of hair in my hands. I was just, ‘oh my God.’” 

She eventually debuted a buzzed look and continued to talk about her hair loss battle. Last Christmas, she took to Instagram to talk about her struggle and ways to hide new lines of hair loss. 

“Y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here. Look at that,” she said pointing to a visible line across the crown of her head. “It just showed up like that and this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide.”

And the laughter she gave at the beginning of the video is the one far too many Black women know – the laugh to keep from crying. She said she was sharing her story “so you aren’t asking questions” and “so nobody thinks she’s got brain surgery or something.”

Plainly put, Jada was hurting – and Will apparently was not here for it Sunday night.

As Rock, who genuinely seemed clueless (though he has a whole movie about Black hair), continued with the jokes, Will told him to “keep my wife’s name out your f**ing mouth.”

Later that night, when Will accepted the award for playing Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard Williams in “King Richard,” he likened himself to the titular character. He called Richard “a fierce defender of his family” and talked about the need to protect Black women. 

Of course, no one condones Will for assaulting Rock on live television. This is now the most-talked-about moment of the night. The moment now overshadows him taking home the award for best actor and the fact that this was the first all Black-production team in Oscars history. 

But, I get it.