Zendaya Explains Why Defending Her Hair Is So Important
Zendaya’s ‘Complex’ cover features natural hair. (Photo: ‘Complex’)
Zendaya is, in her words, “19 going on 80.” There’s no arguing that young star, who grew up in the industry, is wise beyond her years. “I don’t know why I’m so deep,” she told Complex Magazine in her “Woman of the Year” cover shoot. She’s always been an advocate of unapologetic self-love and positive body image, harnessing who she is and where she comes from. It comes as no surprise that her main reason for publicly defending her red carpet dreadlocks in wake of Giuliana Rancic’s comment that, “she smells like patchouli oil or weed,” is related to pride and her position as a role model.
Zendaya says the response to her defense of her hair has been overwhelmingly positive. “It was a learning experience for myself and for everyone who read it,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize that hair is a big thing for a lot of people, not just African-American women. It’s something to be aware of and to be cautious of. So it was something that I really felt like I should speak on. There were so many women, of all races, that came up to me and were like, ‘I really love what you said,’ or 'I had my daughter read that.’” As grateful as Zendaya was for the reaction to her note in defense of her hair, the real reason she decided to speak out is a personal one. “All my brothers and my dad at one point had dreadlocks. My little nieces have curly hair,” she says. “And if they were to have someone say something demeaning about what they have and what they hold dear to them, then I would want them to at least have the pride within themselves to come up with a response that made sense and that they were proud of.” She says that while her nieces and nephews are too young for social media now, she hopes to set an example for her them on how to handle similar issues publicly when the time comes.
Zendaya defends her dreadlocks. (Photo: Getty)
That said, don’t look forward to Zendaya having a “Miley moment.” She’s stuck to her position as a role model, or “real model,” as she calls it. “I’m not pretending to be something that I’m not, because like [Tupac Shakur] said, people are going to be disappointed when they find out who you are, because it’s not going to be what you presented to the world,” she said. Zendaya thinks that some of her fellow Disney Channel stars, particularly those who started very young, were forced to be role models before they were ready, and “had to pretend to be something that they didn’t feel matched up with they were.” We can fathom a guess of who she’s talking about. But still, she defends said Disney stars saying, “at least you can say they are themselves now.” We wonder what Zendaya thinks about Miley Cyrus regularly appearing in the controversial dreadlock ponytail she debuted at the 2015 VMAs.
Miley Cyrus appears on tour wearing faux-dreadlocks. (Photo: Getty)
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