Why Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock Over Jada Pinkett-GI Jane 2 Joke- All You Need To Know About Alopecia

Hollywood star Will Smith made global headlines after he slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face on stage at the Oscars night on Sunday for cracking a joke at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and her shaved head. The joke was in reference to Pinkett-Smith's shaved head because of autoimmune disorder alopecia.

New Delhi: Hollywood star Will Smith made global headlines after he slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face on stage at the Oscars night on Sunday for cracking a joke at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and her shaved head. The joke was in reference to Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head because of autoimmune disorder alopecia but it apparently didn’t go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and slapped Rock. The incident has brought the focus on alopecia- the medical disorder that leads to varying degrees of hair loss.

Rock, presenting the best documentary prize with a short comedy routine, cracked an unsavoury joke comparingPinkett Smith’s tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore’s appearance in the film “G.I. Jane” and suggesting she appear in a sequel. Reacting to this her husband, Will went on stage and slapped Rock. While walking back to his seat, the actor said, “Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth.”

Watch the viral slap video here:

Here’s the unedited Will Smith slap of Chris Rock. This looks real. They bleeped it all out on the American version. pic.twitter.com/2fIoL05gO8

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 28, 2022

Smith, who later won the Best Actor award, tendered a tearful apology on stage, and said, “Love will make you do crazy things”, as his wife looked on sitting in the audience.

What Is Alopecia?

Alopecia is an autoimmune condition where immune cells attack hair follicles, causing hair loss. Dermatologists and hair care experts from Delhi to Mumbai concurred that as the disorder entails the loss of hair, it often “affects the self-image and self-esteem” of people suffering from it.

Mumbai-based dermatologist and hair transplant surgeon Dr Sonali Kohli said there are multiple kinds of alopecia, largely depending on the degree of autoimmune disorder. The most common type is “alopecia areata”, which occurs in about one out of 1,000 people.

“In this type, there could be single or multiple patches of hair loss and both adults and children can get it. Alopecia is a genetic disorder, so children have the susceptibility of getting it even if one of their parents has it, but the degree of susceptibility could be different,” she told PTI.

Types of Alopecia

• Alopecia areata- leads to single or multiple patches of hair loss and both adult and children
• Alopecia totalis- when the entire scalp turns bald)
• Alopecia ophiasis- when even the hair loss is also on occipital, temporal, and parietal regions of the scalp
• Alopecia Universalis -when the hair loss happens across the entire body

How Alopecia affects a patient’s mental condition?

Kohli said she was aware of the incident that took place during the Academy Awards ceremony when actor Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage after he cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith.

She said that unlike a disease like cancer which wrecks the body of a patient, this condition is such that it affects the “beauty” and “self-image” of a person due to loss of hair, and while in the case of alopecia areata, some people wear a cap or something, and in case of alopecia totalis, many wear a wig or a hairpiece, it makes people conscious of their image.

As the incident has brought alopecia back under the spotlight, many doctors said some of the Indian celebrities also have it, but they generally do not acknowledge it in public, as “actors in India are considered God-like”.

What Causes Alopecia?

Dr D M Mahajan, senior consultant, dermatology, Apollo hospitals in Delhi said, both males and females are equally susceptible to this condition. The doctor informed me that in one type, there could be male-pattern alopecia or baldness or female-pattern alopecia or baldness. Also, non-scarring alopecia is “reversible” but scarring alopecia is “not reversible”. “Also, people who have certain allergies are more susceptible to it,” the doctor said.

Dr Rashmi Sharma, consultant, dermatology at Fortis Hospital at Vasant Kunj said while alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder largely, depression, anxiety and stress can also trigger it. “Every person has a two per cent risk of developing this disorder or one in 1,000. And, both male and female are are equally susceptible, as are adults and children,” she said.

How can Alopecia be treated?

Doctors said its treatment, depending on varying degrees of disorder, could be the use of a topical ointment or intra-lesional steroid injection, among other interventions.

(With agency inputs)