Source: Jordan Fisher / Jordan Fisher
Jada Pinkett Smith publicly addressed the Oscars fiasco on a new episode of The Red Table Talk. On the episode, which is dedicated to alopecia, Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris and Willow Smith talk about the emotional affects of having the autoimmune disease.
“This is a really important Red Table Talk on alopecia,” the Girls Trip star said. “Considering what I’ve been through and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories. I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is.”
Jada Pinkett Smith added that she hopes Will Smith and Chris Rock can move on peacefully from the situation.
“Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. The state of the world today, we need ’em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever. Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together.”
Pinkett Smith spoke about how common alopecia is as well and what the hardest part of dealing with the diagnosis is for her.
“147 million people are living with alopecia, including me, and there’s so much shame around having alopecia and when you go bald and you don’t have a choice,” she continued. “You know what I mean? I think the part that makes it most difficult for me is that it comes and goes.”
One of the guests on this episode was former NBA player Charlie Villanueva, who was diagnosed with alopecia when he was 10. He opened up about how alopecia broke him down but also built him up.
“It took me about six years to finally accept it. It was a constant battle, not being comfortable in my own skin,” he said. “I did a good job of putting a mask on and acting like everything was okay, but in the inside it wasn’t. Alopecia drove me to become a better basketball player. And it also helped me become a better person. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and the reason why it happened to me is because now I have the opportunity, and I have a platform to help others with this condition.”
Watch the full episode below.
