Her Character Was Only Supposed To Remove Her Makeup Before Bed. Then Viola Davis Made It Real.
This powerful scene from ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder" hit me on so many levels. But hearing the story behind it from actress Viola Davis makes me love it that much more.
So why's this scene such a big deal? Well, as a woman of color who proudly rocks her natural hair, I think it's important for a few reasons.
First off, these days there are very few black women on TV wearing their natural hair. That's not to say there's anything wrong with wearing a wig or a weave or having a chemical relaxer, but it's pretty much the norm for black women in Hollywood.
Second, there's a long, complicated history of black women being told by society that their natural hair is unprofessional, ugly, distracting, and a whole host of other insults. There are even companies and schools that have regulations against natural hairstyles, including the U.S. military!
And lastly, in recent years Viola Davis has opened up about her struggle to embrace her natural hair after struggling with alopecia. (I told you there were layers to this awesome scene!) So as much as I'd love to see Viola Davis rock her beautiful fro full time on "How to Get Away With Murder," it's huge that she was able to bring some honesty to the scene by taking her wig off and revealing her and her character's true self. Sure, it's a fictional primetime drama, but that moment made it so incredibly real. Now somebody get Viola Davis an Emmy! Stat!
And in case you missed the scene, check out the clip for yourself (caution — there's a big show spoiler after her husband comes in!):
- Her boyfriend gently shaved her head after her alopecia diagnosis. But what he did next is so much better. - Upworthy ›
- The best eco-friendly beauty products to glow any day of the week - Upworthy ›
- Talking to my daughters about beauty was harder than I expected - Upworthy ›
- Mom uses a brilliantly simple one word switch while talking to her daughter about makeup - Upworthy ›



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
Gif of baby being baptized
Woman gives toddler a bath Canva


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.