It looks like actress Halle Berry and her ex-boyfriend and baby daddy, Gabriel Aubry are feuding again but this time it's not about how much child support she supposedly owes him. No, it's all over their 6-year-old daughter, Nahla's hair. Trust me—it's a lot more serious than you'd think!
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According to reports, Halle tried suing her ex Gabriel for straightening and adding golden highlights to their daughter's naturally curly, brown hair in attempts to make her look "less African American" and more "white." Can you believe this? TMZ reports:
Halle was furious Gabriel was straightening Nahla's naturally-curly hair, lightening it with highlights and she is convinced it's because he does not want the girl to appear to be African American. Halle didn't show in court Monday morning, but her lawyer Steve Kolodny did, along with Gabriel and after a lot of arguing the judge ruled NEITHER Halle nor Gabriel could change Nahla's look from its natural state.
Say what you want, but I totally get why this would piss Halle off. By straightening and lightening Nahla's natural hair, Gabriel is basically telling his daughter that the hair that naturally grows out of her head isn't beautiful enough. He's saying that it needs to be changed, straightened and lightened in order to meet society's beauty standards. Now, whether his intentions are to actually make her look "less black "and "more white" or not, that's the message that's being sent and that's the message that's going to be instilled in this kid's head.
As a Dominicana with naturally curly hair, I can tell you right now that changing a kid's textured tresses to meet more Eurocentric standards will in fact affect her. I went a good couple of years only wearing my hair blow-dried straight because I grew up believing it would make me look more polished and presentable. Looking back I wish someone would have just encouraged me to embrace my natural texture because now I'm struggling with a little problem called heat-damage and the process of trying to grow out my curls again is NOT cute, girl!
As parents, it's up to us to allow our kids to feel safe and comfortable in their own skin. A little girl with textured hair is already going to endure enough criticism from her friends, peers and possibly even strangers. Why add on to that? Let's help them embrace and praise the God-given hair that grows from their scalp and let them to choose how they wear or style it. Can I get an amen to that?
Image via Getty Images
