Halle Berry isn’t afraid to laugh at herself...especially when all of her fans are already poking fun at her.
The star shocked fans over the weekend when she showed up to the 2021 Academy Awards donning an unusual haircut. Joined by her musician boyfriend Van Hunt, the actress walked the red carpet wearing a stunning Dolce & Gabbana gown and some Ridano jewels. While Berry looked beautiful as always, fans were surprised by her hair, which resembled a bowl cut with some very short bangs.
It didn’t take long for the social media commentary to start, with everyone watching the awards show airing out their thoughts on Twitter. Eventually, Twitter user @troyeIlas posted a video of a fan joking about the bob and bangs Berry debuted at the Oscars, which caused the 54-year-old actress to retweet the clip along with some laughing emojis.
He was pretty surprised to see Berry’s response, writing back, “OH MY GOD?!?!”
While at the Oscars, Berry presented the award for production design, which went to Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale for their work in Mank.
The actress took home her own Academy Award in 2002 for her performance in Monster’s Ball, when she became the first Black woman to win in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category. To this day, nearly 20 years later, she is still the only Black woman to win this award.
Halle spoke on that disappointing truth last year, revealing which actresses she thought would change that fact over the years.
“I thought Cynthia [Erivo, the star of Harriet] was going to do it last year. I thought Ruth [Negga, nominated for 2016’s Loving] had a really good shot at it, too,” Berry told Variety in 2020. “I thought there were women that rightfully, arguably, could have, should have. I hoped they would have, but why it hasn’t gone that way, I don’t have the answer.”
She continued, “It’s one of my biggest heartbreaks. The morning after, I thought, ‘Wow, I was chosen to open a door.’ And then, to have no one … I question, ‘Was that an important moment, or was it just an important moment for me?’”
“I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me,” Berry explained. “It felt so much bigger than me, mainly because I knew others should have been there before me and they weren’t.”