Exclusive: Lena Waithe And Elle Lorraine Talk Justin Simien’s Horror Satire ‘Bad Hair’

Now airing on Hulu is the Justin Simien’s horror satire Bad Hair, one of the buzziest titles out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

In this horror satire set in 1989, Bad Hair follows an ambitious young woman named Anna (Elle Lorraine) who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career comes at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own. 

The film stars Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Jay Pharoah, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood, James Van Der Beek, and Usher Raymond. 

The film has since been featured in Essence Festival, CurlFest, UrbanWorld, where Simien (Dear White People) received the 2020 Festival Ambassador Award, Chicago Film Festival, New York Comic Con, Beyond Fest and One Music Festival.  

BlackFilmandTV.com correspondent Sidnee Michelle spoke with Waithe and Lorraine about their roles in the film. Lorraine, who’s been seen in Simien’s Dear White People series, Lena Waithe’s Boomerang series and has a recurring role on HBO’s Insecure as the memorable Trina, Issa Dee's vivacious neighbor, plays Anna Bludso, a shy TV executive assistant, who gets her first weave to shine in the image-obsessed industry.

Emmy Award winner Waithe, who’s the executive producer of Showtime’s The Chi, BET’s Boomerang, and a producer on a Radha Blank’s The 40-Year-Old Version, plays Anna's co-worker Brook-Lynne.