Chris Rock's joke appearing to mock Jada Pinkett-Smith's alopecia at the Oscars was all too familiar for women suffering from the condition in the North East.
The line - comparing the Matrix actress to "GI Jane" because of her shaven hairstyle - saw husband Will Smith storm on stage and slap Chris Rock. He also said: "Keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth." Jada, 50, previously opened up about her decision to shave her head, after suffering from alopecia.
Lyndsey Brack and Natasha Lachs have both been open about their experience with alopecia too - and they told ChronicleLive that, while they don't condone the violence, they understood what had motivated it. The pair also explained why jokes aimed at people with alopecia or hair loss need to stop - as they can have a very real impact on the mental health of people already suffering from difficult conditions.
Read more: Will Smith hits Chris Rock at the Oscars after comedian makes joke about his wife Jada
Natasha, who lives in Blyth, has suffered hair loss throughout her life - but lost her hair "very quickly" at 21. Now in her late 30s, she's open about her struggle with the autoimmune condition which causes a person's immune system to attack their hair follicles. Speaking about the impact of the unpleasant joke, she said: "It's really difficult to listen to. I don't condone the violence but I can see what happened. He wanted to protect his family.
"I've been there, faced insults and it's really not nice. How come comedians feel its ok to take the mick out of one disability when they wouldn't do that to another? It's really not right. It's hard enough being female and losing your hair, never mind when it's being mocked too."
And Lyndsey, who began losing her hair after giving birth to her son Tyler, explained that the Chris Rock joke had already inspired more unpleasant attempts at humour on social media. Though she said on the whole she had been lucky and not faced much direct abuse in the past, she worried about the impact of public mockery on young girls suffering with alopecia.
Ashington -based, Lyndsey also set up a business - Diamond Hair Solutions - catering specifically for women who have hair loss. She added: "It definitely hit home. This morning I've seen there's been jokes shared on those lines and that's not ok."
Both women cited the case of a girl in the United States called Rio Allred who recently took her own life after bullying thought to be related to her alopecia. They said this case showed the very real impact of tasteless and offensive jokes.
"There was a young girl who committed suicide in the US. That shows what this kind of bullying can do," she said. "Obviously it's not okay and it's led to more jokes going around too. I've been lucky, I think, but others really suffer. And if it happens to you when you're young it's incredibly difficult."
Natasha added: "This comes after the news in America about 12-year-old Rio. When you then that and then see a very well known comedian on stage in front of millions taking the mick, it's really hard to stomach."
In a statement this morning, the Alopecia UK charity said: "Dealing with unwelcome remarks and being the butt of jokes is sadly an all too real part of having alopecia. This just adds to the distress and challenges faced by people with alopecia.
"In a world where it’s unacceptable to make jokes about someone’s race, sexuality or disability, we believe the same should apply to jokes about visible difference. Such remarks or jokes should be called out as unacceptable or inappropriate.
"At Alopecia UK, we understand the difficult emotions that people affected by alopecia may feel, including loved ones of people with the condition. Alopecia UK is here to support anyone affected by any type of alopecia."
Police in LA have confirmed they are aware of the incident but that Chris Rock "declined to file a report".
