If there’s one thing Jada Pinkett Smith has always been, it’s candid. From her thought-provoking conversations on Red Table Talk to her open and honest expressions about her journey with alopecia, Pinkett Smith has always been an iconic figure for speaking one’s truth regardless of how difficult it may be. Though the actress has always been open about her own alopecia journey, the 52-year-old just spoke out about how iconic rapper and close friend of hers, Tupac, also struggled with the condition throughout his career.
Pinkett Smith On Tupac’s Alopecia
Pinkett Smith first opened up about her personal alopecia condition back in 2018, and has since become a major advocate for alopecia awareness. Just this week, though, the star just opened up to People about how her close friend Tupac also suffered from the condition, but was less willing to talk about it. “I don’t think Tupac ever talked about the alopecia he suffered from,” Pinkett Smith began, before explaining that the iconic rapper’s struggles with the autoimmune disease began around 1991. “After he was in Northern California with the police officers that beat him up, he started losing his hair. And his alopecia patterns were far more extreme than mine,” Pinkett Smith explained.
The mom-of-two went on to explain that she believes that Tupac didn’t share his alopecia struggles due to the societal pressures at the time. “I don’t think Pac ever talked about his alopecia, but he also looked really good with a bald head,” she explains, “But that was during a time and during an era that you wouldn’t—he just wouldn’t talk about it.” Smith went on to note that she wholeheartedly believes that if Tupac were alive today, he would speak out about his condition, and hopes that sharing his story will help to raise awareness for the condition that affects as many as 6.7 million people in just the U.S. alone, according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.
