Alopecia advocate condemns Oscars incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock

‘Violence is unacceptable, but words can be harmful too,’ Laura Mathias says

Laura Mathias, who campaigns for alopecia awareness (Laura Mathias/Instagram)

An alopecia awareness campaigner has said that the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock that took place onstage at the Oscars was “unacceptable” on both sides.

Laura Mathias, 30, wrote in an Instagram post that while Smith’s actions – in which he slapped the comedian on live television – were “unacceptable”, Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia was “harmful”.

On Sunday night, the comedian was on stage to present an award and quipped that Pinkett Smith would star in “GI Jane 2”, in reference to her shaved head.

The King Richard star strode on stage and hit Rock across the face with an open hand. He then shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”.

The incident prompted a huge reaction across the world, with the internet divided between people supporting Smith for appearing to defend his wife and others arguing that Rock had been physically assaulted by the actor.

But Mathias, who has alopecia, said the one positive thing to emerge from the scandal was that it raised awareness over the autoimmune condition, which causes hair loss.

She wrote on Instagram that it takes “courage” for her to leave the house without a wig covering her bald head.

“I can’t even imagine sitting front row at the Oscars only to have my hair, or lack of it, commented on,” Mathias said, referring to Pinkett Smith.

She said that while Pinkett Smith may not have needed “protecting” from the joke made by Rock, Smith “did the right thing in making it clear that joking about his wife’s hair loss is not appropriate”.

“I just wish he had done this with words,” she continued. “Violence is never acceptable, but words can be harmful too… [Jada] went in front of the world as a woman without hair, only to be singled out as the butt of a joke.”

Mathias pointed towards Rio Allred, a 12-year-old American girl who died by suicide earlier this month after she allegedly suffered bullying at school because of her alopecia.

“Do we really need more evidence to consider how watching a powerful person being mocked for their visible difference will impact how our society and our young people comprehend this condition?” she added.

However, the increased awareness that has been raised about alopecia since the incident has given Mathias more confidence to go out without a wig.

She told the BBC: “I normally get very anxious going out without a wig. But now I feel like enough people know about the condition and wouldn’t presume I have cancer, or some other illness, and look at me with pity.”