Teens can be very cruel. Myckelle Williams found out just how mean they can be when her 16-year-old daughter, Lauren “LuLu” Williams, called her crying after a Tennessee high school student pulled her wig off over a $5 bet.
In a Snapchat video that captured the moment, the young boy can be seen creeping up behind Williams and snatching off her wig quickly before taking off down the Franklin High School hallway.
“These kids not only tore her wig off in the middle of school, but videotaped it,” the older Williams wrote in a Facebook post, detailing the bullying. “They followed her to the bathroom as she screamed and cried and proceeded to tape her OVER the stall as she cried and begged for her wig. Later I had to take her to the hospital for abrasions and whiplash.”
Lauren suffers from eczema and psoriasis—conditions that cause severe dry scalp and hair loss—leaving her to rely on wigs.
“My hair is, like, my one place where I can feel safe, and I loved having wigs to express myself,” Lauren explained to WSMV-TV. “When they tore that off me, I felt basically naked.”
However, in an interview with News Channel 5, the mother and daughter both look forward to transforming the humiliating moment into a self-love, shame-free movement. Lauren decided to shave her head to regain her power and help redefine beauty.
“When I walk around with a bald head, he’ll know that he didn’t do anything but give me more power to speak out to other people.”
Franklin High administration and Officials with the Williamson County Schools are investigating the incident and plan to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.