Vanessa Williams has been in the entertainment game for decades. She’s a legend who’s done a lot and seen a lot. But for the first time in her career she’s seeing a new attitude toward textured hair.

During ESSENCE’s Beauty Carnival the singer and actress talked to the cast and creators of the film Bad Hair, about her hopes and optimism for Black hair in Hollywood.

“Well I think we’ve made tremendous strides,” said Williams. “Being in the business from the 80s til now, [back then] nobody would know what textured hair was and how to deal with it. The fear factor for any kind of textured hair was ridiculous and it’s slowly been acceptable. And I think the industry is so scared now that I think everything will be accepted. I think the fight is over.”

ESSENCE’s Entertainment and Talent Director Cori Murray with Justin Simien, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Williams and Elle Lorraine

She laughed at the tail end of her statement as if to signal that, based on history, her optimism might be premature. But Lena Waithe chimed in to reinforce the idea that there’s progress. And she also shared what she wants for the representation of Black women in Hollywood through hair.

“When I look at television and I see Black women, I love seeing Black women have their natural hair,” said Waithe.

“Now mind you, it’s a preference and that’s the thing that I love about [Bad Hair] movie. It’s [about how] Black women should have the freedom to decide how they want to wear their hair,” Waithe continued. “I’m not trying to speak badly about women who want to process their hair or whatever. But what I do love to see is that all of our hair right now on this panel looks so different. And I think that’s what it should look like. There should be a variety of Black hair on television. And I think that’s what’s so exciting to me when I turn on the TV.”

Waithe, who is the creator of The Chi on Showtime, and creator and executive producer of Boomerang and Twenties on BET, was introduced to most of us through Master Of None, back when she had locs. The women on her shows sport a variety of different hair textures andtarget=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener” aria-label=”really low cuts (opens in a new tab)”>really low cuts.

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