Sameera Reddy opens up on alopecia after Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscar slap, joke on Jada Pinkett
India Today
Sameera Reddy penned a long note on suffering from alopecia and called it a traumatic disease. At Oscars, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after he cracked a joke about his wife Jada Smith, who suffers from the same condition.
At Oscars 2022, Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock after he said that the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, looked ready for GI Jane 2. Jada has been vocal about her alopecia diagnosis, because of which she sports tightly cropped hair. This elicited strong reactions on social media. Minnie Driver, Conan O'Brien and Adam Hunter, among other Hollywood celebrities, also shared their views on the altercation. Now, Sameera Reddy has penned a long note about the disease and hoped for sensitivity in people.
In her note about alopecia, Sameera Reddy revealed that her husband, Akshai Varde, had found a two-inch bald spot at the back of her head in 2016. She received treatment and has healthy hair now, however, it can come back at any time.
She wrote, “The current #oscar controversy made me want to shed light that we all have our individual battles we are fighting and healing from and we need to create a positive safe space for one other What Is Alopecia Areata? It is an auto immune disease. When you have Alopecia Areata, cells in your immune system surround and attack your hair follicles. This causes the attached hair to fall out that causes patches of bald spots. I got diagnosed with it in 2016 when Akshai saw I had a 2-inch bald spot at the back of my head. In one month I discovered two more patches. It was really hard to deal with. Alopecia Areata does not make people sick, nor is it contagious. It can, however, be difficult to adapt to emotionally (sic).”
The actress continued, “For many people, Alopecia Areata is a traumatic disease that warrants treatment addressing the emotional aspect of hair loss, as well as the hair loss itself. The doctor told me that in most cases the hair can grow back and with Corticosteroids injections in the scalp my three patches grew back slowly. But I’m very aware there is no cure. And there is no particular reason why a person gets Alopecia Areata. Other types of alopecia are—alopecia totalis (when entire scalp turns bald); alopecia ophiasis (when even the hair loss is also on occipital, temporal, and parietal regions of the scalp); and alopecia universalis (when the hair loss happens across the entire body) And though right now I have healthy hair with no patches (that I am grateful for everyday) I’ve been told I have to be aware it can come back at any point in my life. I do take homeopathy and I holistically hope to keep it at bay. In this fast paced world I pray people will pause, reflect and be sensitive to each other #healing #positive #imperfectlyperfect #alopeciaareata (sic).”
In 2018, Jada Pinkett Smith had revealed her alopecia diagnosis. She has been quite open about her struggles with the condition. Last year, Jada shared a video and wrote, "Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends period! (sic)."
