Sunday night's Academy Awards were buzzing after comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's close-shaven hairstyle.
The host said that Pinkett Smith could star in a "G.I. Jane" sequel, referring to the 1997 movie where actress Demi Moore shaves her head bald. Will Smith reacted to the joke by coming on stage and slapping Rock in the face, and told the comedian to stop making jokes about his wife.
In a May 2018 "Red Table Talk" episode, Pinkett Smith revealed that she has alopecia, which caused her to lose her hair. She talked about the condition again in a December 2021 Instagram post, sharing a video of her bald head.
Alopecia is an incurable autoimmune condition that can cause a person's hair to fall out in large or small chunks on the head, face, or body, Insider previously reported. Some people have episodes of hair loss throughout their lives, while others will only have one hair-loss experience before it grows back completely.
An estimated one-third of women will experience hair loss at some point in their lives, according to Harvard Health.
Pinkett Smith isn't the only celebrity to be open about hair loss. Stars like Kristin Davis and Naomi Campbell have previously shared their experiences after losing hair due to postpartum or excessive styling.