Happy Anniversary to Annalise Keating's Wig Snatching
A Moment I'll Never Forget as an Actor and Black Woman
Where were you when Annalise Keating first took her wig off? What may sound like something superficial was a huge moment for Black women. This scene impacted society at large, but it also meant so much to me and my friends.
In case you don’t know, Annalise Keating was Viola Davis’ character in How To Get Away With Murder. This moment was in HTGAWM season 1, episode 4—not even halfway through the season—and has been an iconic moment referenced ever since. Shonda Thursdays were very important in the 2010s and a ritual among my friends.
We were big fans of Scandal (starring the fabulous Kerry Washington) and then HTGAWM came along as Shonda Rhimes’ shiny new show starring film actress Viola Davis. It was a new, shocking idea for an Oscar winner to lead a TV show. Although HTGAWM was about a lawyer and not politics, I assumed it would have a similar vibe to Scandal. We would watch Scandal and then HTGAWM back-to-back.
This episode, in particular, made it clear to me that the vibe was very different from Scandal. Scandal had a polished, sexy vibe to it. Olivia Pope always looked good and was a powerful, sought-after woman. She had this iconic power walk, and her hair always bounced with fabulousity.
There would be times when Olivia would have a steamy scene in the shower, and for a moment you’d see her natural hair curl up…but then moments later she’d be dry and suddenly have a full polished press and curl. My friends and I would chuckle as we found it unrealistic. Girl, bye!
I wasn’t expecting them to show her at a salon or her ironwork in between all these moments, after all, we’ve got story to move! But I think my friends and I simply wanted her to wear a shower cap. That would’ve felt real. For some reason, we were kinda caught up in this unrealistic beauty expectation.
There was just no way she was wetting her hair in the shower, going back to her natural texture, and then having a blowout in minutes! But that’s not what the show was about, these were just fleeting thoughts we’d shout at the TV as we watched. This kind of TV was never about “being real.” This was ABC, and the Black people on this channel always had a certain kind of pop and polish. That is, until, Annalise Keating.
In this HTGAWM episode, Annalise comes home from a long day, sits at her vanity, pulls off her wig, and removes all her makeup. It was a raw moment where she was fully revealed, not wearing the armor she put on for the world. My friends and I GASPED. We were very extra about it. It was exciting. It was shocking. It was real.
You might think “What, she just took her wig off?”
Well yes, but it was a moment of honesty we had never seen before! And then it ends with the epic line where she addresses her husband and asks “Why is your penis on a dead girl’s phone?” Boom. End of episode. Talk about a cliffhanger!
Mind you, Kerry Washington was the first Black woman since 1974 to lead a network TV drama. And then Viola Davis came on the scene as not only a Black woman leading a network TV drama but as a very dark antihero character at that—something women rarely got to play. All of this was groundbreaking.
But back to the hair. My friends immediately mentioned how their mothers or grandmothers would clutch their pearls at the sight of this. I was raised by my white mom, so I didn’t relate to it in the exact same sense, but I knew this moment was huge. I had a friend who would never even let me see what her hair looked like wet, we were only allowed to see it blowdried and straight.
Annalise Keating not only revealed her natural hair but her hair wasn’t done—it was messy from having just been under a wig. It wasn’t ready for company. This was never seen on TV before! Some people are of the opinion that one should never look this way in public, which includes looking this way on TV. And I know some non-Black people were surprised too, not being familiar with seeing this hair texture.
I was honestly impressed at Viola Davis’ rawness as an actor. Even though acting should be about bringing truth to a character, many actors (in my experience) worry about looking pretty. Viola Davis isn’t afraid to go there. This moment required her to be stripped down and she brought so much to it without saying a word. I love moments in storytelling where dialogue isn’t needed and so much is communicated from a look or an action.
Viola Davis herself said “Because we made beauty a part of acting when, in fact, it has nothing to do with acting. Beauty has something to do with fame which is a byproduct of what we do. Our job is to mirror life… with all of its mess, irony, and contradictions. There’s TV and then there’s GOOD TV. I signed up for GOOD TV.” As an actor, she made me feel that I don’t have to have the Olivia Pope glam, I can also be just myself on screen and that moment can be real and sincere, not a joke.
Black women’s hair always seems to be a point of contention for people. Is it real? Is it fake? Is it presentable? Is it professional? Is it good? Is it bad? I hate it. No one else’s hair gets talked about that much.
When it comes to celebrities, a big part of what bothers me is that white women have so many hair extensions and hair pieces, do extensive ironwork, dye their hair incessantly, etc but it is never a talking point. People assume it’s natural and move on. Only Black women’s hair gets debated over. How about we just let Black women live their lives how they want?
I’m gonna be brutally honest for a second…there are also so many white women (celebrities and non-alike) that have trash-ass hairstyles. They shave their hair in ways that make zero sense, dye it colors that don’t exist in nature, and sometimes just look raggedy—but no one cares. And yes, I just dragged them, but it’s kind of beautiful that no one cares and they can just live. I’m looking at them like they’re crazy, but the world is looking at them like “That’s just Amy!”
They still get jobs, they find partners, and they are often deemed trendsetters. If I think someone’s hair doesn’t look good, but they like it, that’s their prerogative! And it should be the same for Black women. Get off our neck!
This Annalise Keating moment was one where people were bringing up all those questions and opinions about Black women’s hair yet again, but it happened in a way that evoked necessary change. To me, it pushed for Black women to be their full selves on and off the screen. I love anything that pushes authenticity.
You don’t have to be snatched for the gawds all the time, you’re worthy of taking up space (on screens and in real life) no matter what you look like. I think this is part of why Viola Davis won her Emmy. She always keeps it real! And it was a historic win—the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
That moment aired ten years ago, and I think was part of a change on TV where we started seeing more complex images of Black women, including in the depiction of their hair. Slowly more bonnets, scarves, and natural textures were seen on the screen. There’s nothing wrong with having hairstyles that feel “not realistic,” but it’s nice to feel validated in this version of beauty too. I am so glad it happened and I’ll never forget the feeling of that moment. Thank you Viola Davis and How To Get Away With Murder!
Thank you for reading this Substack! I hope you have a great week and feel beautiful. Below are my upcoming shows.
Cheers,
Paige Elson
Thursday Night Harold 10/24 at 7pm
Harold Night 10/28 at 7pm