Jessica Morgan
(Picture: Handout)In November 2020, I witnessed a suicide on the Victoria Line at Finsbury Park. It was one of the most traumatic incidences I’ve ever experienced and it severely affected my mental health. I had undergone trauma therapy, as well as visited my GP for PTSD treatment. While I had made somewhat of a mental health recovery in early 2021, I began to notice the physical effects of the trauma. My eyebrows, which were once thick and bushy, had completely disappeared and it changed my face. The mental toll of which meant that I struggled with my confidence for the majority of the year, scared to leave my house without pencilling new eyebrows to replace the ones that were once there. My eyebrows were part of my identity. It was only in early 2022 when I eventually saw the GP, was when I was told that I had developed alopecia – hair loss of the eyebrow – as a result of stress.
During Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, Chris Rock chose to take a swipe at Jada Pinkett Smith. “I love you, Jada. But I can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,” he said, referring to her shaved head. Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes and looked visibly upset before Rock continued: “that was a nice one” which was followed by laughs from the audience. Seconds later, Pinkett Smith’s husband, Will, walked calmly onto the stage and slapped Rock in front of a stunned audience (and viewers watching live at home). “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth,” he said when he returned to his seat. My reaction twinned with Lupita Nyong’o’s.
