DeAndre Arnold, who was suspended and told he couldn't walk at his graduation unless he cut off his dreadlocks, attended with the 'Hair Love' producers.
DeAndre Arnold, who was suspended and told he couldn't walk at his graduation unless he cut off his dreadlocks, joined the Hair Love team, including director Matthew A. Cherry, on the 2020 Oscars red carpet Sunday night.
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade — who are producers on the Oscar-nominated short film — invited the high school senior and his mom to accompany them for Hollywood's biggest night with a video that the stars posted online and originally aired on CBS This Morning.
“When we heard the amazing story of a young black father with long beautiful locs just trying to figure out how to do his daughter’s hair, we knew that we had to support any way we could, we had to get involved any way we could — the same way as when we heard about your story and you just wanting to wear your hair the way you want at school,” Union said in the video.
The Texas teen showed off his natural hair on the carpet, wearing a simple black suit with jewel-tone blue lapels. Missing from the red carpet were Wade and Union themselves, who attended the Vanity Fair Oscars viewing party Sunday.
Arnold also joined in on the pre-Oscars festivities on Saturday night with Union and Wade. The animated short they produce tells the story of a black father learning to do his daughter's hair for the first time and promotes a message of acceptance for all natural hair types — a message that the team put to action with Arnold's Oscar invitation.
