This is 34-year-old Hollywood mogul Lena Waithe. Her looooong list of accomplishments includes winning a 2016 Emmy for comedy writing (the first—and only—Black woman ever nominated), creating and executive producing hit TV shows like Showtime's The Chi, and starring in blockbuster flicks like Ready Player One.
Now that we've established Lena's professional badassery, let's talk about her hair. Until recently, Lena's rocked shoulder-length locs.
Now, she's rocking a low Caesar fade that she debuted early last month on Instagram. "New tings," Lena wrote, tagging her barber TheSlayer.
And the reason why she chopped off her signature locs is as fresh and fly as the cut itself: "I've been thinking about it for a while," she told Variety during a recent red carpet interview. "I felt like I was holding on to a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am."
Lena Waithe explains the significance of cutting her hair https://t.co/3yF6m5uJ12
"And I think I thought for a long time, 'Well if I cut my hair, then like—you know in the gay world, there's a lot of categories—I'll be a stud or I'll be a butch'," she explained. "And I always thought 'Well no, I'm not that. I'm so soft.' And so I said, 'Oh I gotta put that down because that's something that is outside of me.'"
Lena continued: "And I said, 'I'm gonna do it', and I cut it. I felt so happy and so free and so joyful and I really stepped into myself. And if people call me 'a butch' or say 'She's stud' or call me 'Sir' out in the world, so what? So be it."
"And I'm here with a Prada suit on, not a stitch of makeup, and a haircut, and I feel like why can't I exist in the world in that way?"
This isn't the first time Lena, an unapologetic lesbian and LGBTQIA activist, has used the red carpet to make a powerful statement about antiquated social taboos, such as gender fluidity. Earlier this year, the entertainer and activist intentionally wore a show-stopping rainbow cape to the highly-publicized MET Gala to highlight her community.
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"Well in my Emmy speech I mentioned, you know, putting on imaginary capes. Tonight, this cape is not imaginary, it’s rainbow-colored,” she told Vogue on the red carpet. “And we got the black and brown, you know. I’m reppin’ my community, and I want everybody to know that you can be whoever you are, and be completely proud, and be doin' it, so...let's not be afraid of who we are."
In fact, Lena champions the LGBTQIA community any chance she gets: during her Emmys acceptance speech, during her Essence Black Women In Hollywood acceptance speech, during her Vanity Fair cover story, during her GLAAD Award acceptance speech, during her MTV Movie & TV Awards acceptance speech, annnnd all up and down and throughout her Instagram page.
LENA WAITHE IS TRULY AN INSPIRATION AND A GIFT, PERIODT!!! <3 <3 <3
