Television shows and movies capture our attention in many ways, sometimes through their writing, acting or cinematography. Other times, it's through the makeup and hair — especially the wigs — that stop us in our tracks and spark a social media frenzy.
Bad wigs spread across timelines like wildfire. Whether through memes or GIFs, they always get noticed. While directors and producers may not have intended for their projects to draw attention this way, it’s often a case of "all publicity is good publicity."
Here are 13 on-screen bad wig moments that went viral:
1. Shemar Moore in Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Tyler Perry’s first feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, was a box office hit, earning over $50 million worldwide on a $5.5 million budget. It marked the beginning of Perry’s movie empire and sparked many conversations about the wigs in his movies.
The 2005 comedy stars Kimberly Elise as Helen, a scorned divorcée rebuilding her life after the collapse of her marriage. She embarks on a romance with blue-collar worker Orlando, played by Shemar Moore, who stands out in the film not for his usual striking good looks, but for another reason: his cornrow wig.
While it may have been a directorial choice to make Moore appear more rugged, hardworking and round the way, Orlando’s fuzzy braids are forever ingrained in everyone’s memory for all the wrong reasons.
2. Mehcad Brooks in A Fall from Grace
Another wig that caused a stir online was the one worn by Mehcad Brooks in Perry’s Netflix film A Fall from Grace. Brooks plays Shannon, a shady scammer sporting an even shadier, tapered-ish box cut. In an interview with Netflix’s Strong Black Lead, the Texas actor shared that the hair was glued piece-by-piece and touched up every few days. His wig became a viral topic on Black Twitter; one user even commented that it was worse than Moore’s infamous cornrows in Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
3. Crystal Fox in A Fall from Grace
From the same 2020 film, Crystal Fox garnered social media attention for her character’s hairdo. The seasoned actress plays Grace, a woman who believes she’s found love in Shannon until things take a turn for the worse. In one particular scene, when Grace is in prison, viewers noticed a subtle continuity error as her hair appeared slightly bigger between two takes, revealing the use of different shots edited together.
In an interview with Hello Beautiful, Fox, who also starred in Perry’s soap opera “The Haves and the Have Nots,” spoke about her conversations with the New Orleans filmmaker regarding hair on set. "From ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ to this (A Fall From Grace), I’m always asking for things I need as a character, as a woman and as a woman of color,” she said. “Our hair is part of the journey, and it’s very, very important."
4. Keena Ferguson in “Sistas”
I promise we’ll give Perry productions a break, but one of his BET shows, “Sistas,” like his films, has received online criticism about the wigs worn by its characters. Detective Leslie Davenport (Keena Ferguson) wears a lace front low-cut wig that once again caused online chatter about Perry wigs. Ferguson even responded to a post about the wig, showing off her real hair.
In a “Sistas” after show, the award-winning director responded to the wig criticism, expressing frustration around the topic. “I want all of y’all to stop talking about hair to me, please,” he reportedly said, according to TV Line. “I hire people to do hair. [I] pay them $65 an hour, you heard that right — $65 an hour,” he continued. “They work 10 to 12 hours a day to make sure the hair is right. That’s their job, so I’m paying them to do their job and they’re doing that.”
5. Terrence Howard in “Empire”
The internet was in shambles during the final season of “Empire” when Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) appeared with dreadlocks. Known for his short and sometimes coiffed hair, Lucious’ new look had some viewers confused, with social media users commenting on the overall appearance of the faux locs. One thing is clear — a wig like that is a sure way to capture an audience.
6. Corey Hawkins in “The Walking Dead”
Cornrows seem to be a difficult hairstyle to nail on screen. When Corey Hawkins joined the hit series “The Walking Dead,” his character, Heath, sported an unforgettable hairstyle. Unlike Moore’s braided lace wig, Hawkins wore a reddish-brown braided wig styled in a ponytail. You would think that a critically acclaimed and Emmy-nominated show would have allocated some budget for better hair, but perhaps the production team was more focused on the acting and storylines.
7. Danai Gurira in “The Walking Dead”
Natural-looking faux loc wigs can also be challenging to pull off on screen. The horror drama series also saw Danai Gurira’s character Michonne wear a faux loc wig sometimes styled with a scarf. However, without the scarf, the wig didn’t display much lace, which made it look less realistic. Perhaps the issue is that some hairstylists are still mastering Black natural hairstyles in wig form. Regardless, talented actors like Gurira deserve better quality options on set.
8. Anthony Anderson in Scary Movie 3
While the Scary Movie franchise is known for spoofing horror films, it’s unclear if the wigs are meant to be part of the joke. Anthony Anderson joined the series in 2003 for its third installment, playing a character named Mahalik, who wore yet another faux loc wig. It ended up adding to the comedic effect, as Anderson’s character mocked Mekhi Phifer’s hair in 8 Mile. Either way, the wig did not go unnoticed.
9. Halle Berry in The Call
Halle Berry’s on-screen wigs have become a running joke on the internet, and guess what? She’s in on it. One of the Oscar winner’s most famous wigs is the curly unit she wore in the 2013 thriller The Call. According to Women's Wear Daily, Berry’s hair in the film was inspired by a real-life emergency call operator. “The woman that walked me through the call center explained what it was to be a 911 operator and had this hairdo, so I stole it from her,” Berry shared.
More than 10 years after the film’s release, Berry hosted a “bad wig” movie screening of Never Let Go, where she rocked an updated version of her infamous curly hairdo. We love that Berry doesn’t take herself too seriously and can laugh along with the memes and tweets.
10. Samuel L. Jackson in The Great White Hype
Samuel L. Jackson is a legend who has graced our screens for decades, which means that he’s worn his fair share of wigs throughout his career. In 1996’s The Great White Hype, Jackson played Reverend Fred Sultan, who showcased a bold and eccentric style that included many turbans as well as an ash-blonde shaggy wig with bangs. Like a true thespian, the Pulp Fiction star fully committed to the performance and nailed his role in the film.
11. Karen Huger in “The Real Housewives of Potomac”
Wigs on reality TV can cause quite a commotion online. Karen Huger, affectionately known as The Grande Dame on “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” had a standout moment in the show’s third season. During a hilarious barbecue scene, the TV personality found herself needing to adjust her wig — in what she called a “wig shift” — with a little help from her co-star, Candiace Dillard Bassett. In a confessional, Huger reflected on the mishap, saying, “In 20 years of wearing wigs, trust and believe I know how to lock it down.”
12. Glenn Close in The Deliverance
Glenn Close is not afraid to completely transform on screen for a role — I mean this is our 1996 live-action Cruella de Vil we’re talking about. However, her appearance in The Deliverance was more than memorable. She played Alberta, the curly blonde wig and acrylic nail-wearing white mother to biracial daughter Ebony (Andra Day). Thoughts on Alberta’s look flooded social media as soon as the Netflix film was released. A user on X called Close’s hair a “shake and go wig” while another was and shocked to see the award-winning actress in that kind of role: “I never thought in all my days that I would see THEE [sic] Glenn Close doing a sew in with French manicure tips, chewing gum like a cow, with a Cajun accent,” the tweet read.
13. Terrence Howard in “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist”
When Howard appeared on “Straight Talk with Daphne Phaneē,” with a feathered auburn Farah Fawcett-like ’70s style wig and a suit to match, the internet was not sure what was happening. In the interview, he discussed his lawsuit against the Creative Arts Agency. Turns out, the Oscar-nominated actor was just dressed as his character in “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” Cadillac Richie.
On “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” Howard talked about how much he loved the wig, even though it required a lot of maintenance, and he refused to go to set with rollers on. “[Jackson] bought me two bonnets.”