Alopecia advocate praises Will Smith’s Oscars slap: ‘Showed strength’

nypost.com:

Oscars ceremony, but for some who share the same medical condition, they felt protected, too.After presenter Chris Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s bald-headed hairstyle — an outcome of the “Gotham” star’s condition, alopecia — Smith socked him onstage.“Ex on the Beach” contestant ZaraLena Jackson, who also suffers from hair-loss illness and is an advocate on social media, is standing by Smith, 53, and his actions at the Dolby Theatre.

The 29-year-old reality star told SWNS that while she doesn’t advocate for violence, Rock, 57, should have “known better.”“I think it’s inappropriate to make any joke about someone with alopecia as it’s a condition that highly impacts mental health for that individual and isn’t a laughing matter,” she said.Jackson continued, “To be clear, I don’t condone violence, but him defending Jada showed strength in my eyes and was very comforting to see a man stand by his woman when she has alopecia.”Alopecia is an autoimmune disease which causes hair to fall out in clumps.

While the amount of hair loss is different for everyone, some victims lose strands in only a few areas. The hair sometimes grows back in the bald spots.She first appeared on the MTV reality show in 2017 and has been open about her alopecia journey.“Being a comedian is very tongue in cheek and we all dislike when jokes are targeted as us, regardless of the subject, but he should have anticipated that response naturally and known better,” she added of Rock’s actions.The influencer first began losing patches of her blond hair in 2020 and then lost strands in her eyebrows and lashes.