Dancehall Queen Carlene Shaves Head In Solidarity With Sister Battling Cancer
Dancehall Queen Carlene Smith has chosen to cut off all her hair and go bald in support of her sister, who is battling cancer. Smith’s sister, whose identity she wished to protect, is undergoing chemotherapy and as a result, had lost all her hair.
On Tuesday (April 26), Carlene, 48, shared the brave moment with her Instagram followers. The slightly anxious original Dancehall Queen, who had a healthy head of hair, sat determined in the chair as barber Mr. Dawson glided the shaver through her mane.
“Hi guys, yes I’m at the hairdresser and I’m going to be cutting off my hair,” she announced on the Live video. “This is in support for my sister who is going through chemo and has lost all her hair, so I’m doing this for my sister, I love you.”
“Yeah, I’m going to shave my head bald, I don’t care what it will look like cause she had hers and didn’t have a choice,” she added.
After a quick 3-minute cut, Carlene’s hair was completely gone. Gal pal, D’Angel, who was tuned in for the big cut, wrote in the comments, “S[o] nice of you Carlene 🤗🙏 real strength of a woman God bless you Queen.”
Carlene, who is mother to one of Beenie Man’s daughters, rose to national attention in 1992, when she was crowned Dancehall Queen and as a pioneer in risque Dancehall ensembles.
As can imagine, it was quite a shock when she showed up for her Dancehall Tuesdays event at The MECA in Kingston later that night, which featured from a performance by Dancehall singer Jah Vinci.
For Carlene, there’s nothing more beautiful than the love shared between her and her sister, which inspired the new look.
“She has lost her hair and wasn’t comfortable when she heard she had to lose her hair,” Carlene told THE STAR. “You know you’re accustomed to your hair, even if it’s low. Being bald is a whole different thing and I’m just realising that. This is the least I could do in support of not just my sister, but anybody else who is going through this horrible disease. It’s a scary word to hear; it’s frightening and stressful ’cause don’t care what you do, you have no control over it. I love my sister and she knows it. But it’s never too much to make people understand the length and how far you’d go to let them know you’re there with them, for them, and the love you have.”
She took the opportunity to share a message with those who are currently battling cancer, to worry less about their outer appearance despite the discrimination they may face from others.
“You already have so much pressure from your illness, you don’t want to be worrying about your hair and who looks like what, which I totally understand. I do have my name and I am a public figure in my country and some parts of the world, so though I don’t have cancer, my sister does and I didn’t know how else best to let her know and feel that it doesn’t matter what you look like. This is the message for the other patients or people who have had cancer and have got over it or are going through it. The outer appearance really doesn’t matter when you’re hurting inside. I wanted to give cancer patients my support,” she said.
While Carlene said she wishes she could do more, like take the chemotherapy for her sister, her efforts have attracted testimonies from cancer patients and survivors. She has also received well wishes and commendation.
“I want to thank people for the prayers for her and me because this does put a burden on the family. When I tell you my sister takes nothing serious, and for that spirit, I know she’s going to be fine. She’s strong, happy, loving, caring and still worrying about everybody else while she’s going through this.”