Tessica Brown undergoes surgery, regrets posting Gorilla Glue mishap
'I never was going to take this to social media. The reason I took this to social media was because I didn't know what else to do,' she said.
Tessica Brown became a viral news story after uploading a Tiktok video expressing the need for help as she used permanent Gorilla Glue on her hair and was unable to wash it out. Since going viral, people have reached out to assist; however, Brown regrets uploading her mishap to social media.
Read More: Beyond Gorilla Glue: The politics of Black women’s hair
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Brown said her reasoning for uploading the original video was to seek help, not go viral, or seek attention.
“I never was going to take this to social media. The reason I took this to social media was because I didn’t know what else to do,” Brown said to host Melicia Johnson. “And I know somebody out there could have told me something. I didn’t think for one second when I got up the next morning it was gonna be everywhere.”
theGrio reported Brown uploaded a brief, yet descriptive video, explaining how when styling her hair, she noticed she was out of her typical finishing spray, Got 2 Be Glued Freeze Spray. She noticed a bottle of spray Gorilla Glue in her household and decided to use that as a replacement.
With over 10 million views and counting, internet audiences became invested in seeing Brown safely remove the hairstyle. She took the advice of someone who suggested soaking her hair in coconut oil and tea tree oil, which she called an “epic fail,” before visiting a local hospital.
She has used her TikTok and Instagram accounts under the username @Im_d_ollady to chronicle her story.
Read More: Louisiana man’s Gorilla Glue challenge goes terribly wrong, sent to ER
Although many social media followers were hopeful for Brown’s safety and well-being, going viral comes with the dark side of the internet, including cruel jokes and other unwanted attention. During her interview with ET, Brown shared how the comments have impacted her personally.
“I told my son today, ‘I wish I could just go back,’ because I’m over it. I’m over it,” she said. “I’m usually the person that I don’t care what people say. I just move at my own pace. I don’t care what people say, but it’s just getting to the point where people are on TV saying stuff about me.”
She continued, “When somebody said, ‘Oh, she’s just put that on her head on purpose just to get to here.’ Who in their right mind would say, ‘Oh well, let me just spray this in my head and become famous overnight?’ Never!…Who would want them to do that? I needed somebody to tell me how to take this off, that’s all it was.”
She is not the only one affected by the trending news story. Her children are faced with the chatter from teachers and students alike when they go to school. One of her daughters has asked Brown to no longer style her hair, she informed ET.
“It bothers my little girls when they go to school,” she said. “Every time somebody puts up something on social media, that’s it, my inbox is flooded. Don’t worry about this thing. Yeah, y’all can say that. This is what my momma keeps telling me, ‘Stop reading the comments.’ But I can’t help myself. I go read them, and they’re still sending me clips of what happened…It’s way, way, way, too much.”
Brown has also disputed claims that she planned on seeking legal action against the Gorilla Glue company.
“I don’t understand what all of the other stuff is coming from,” she said during her interview with Entertainment Tonight. “No. I’ve never ever said that. Again, I don’t know where all this is coming from because at this point everybody saying it.”
In the latest update, CBS LA reported Brown is recovering after a surgeon removed the once-permanent ponytail. She traveled to Los Angeles to visit Dr. Michael Obeng for a surgical procedure. Obeng reached out to Brown after seeing her viral story and offered to perform the $12,000 operation free of charge. There is a two to three month recovery time frame.
“When I found out this was a reality, you can only feel compassion and sympathy for Tessica,” Obeng, director of MiKO Plastic Surgery, said to CBSLA. “The procedure will be to dissolve the polyurethane, which is Gorilla Glue is made out of.”
He shared with the news outlet, “The surgery went well. Tessica is doing well. She’s awake. The hair crew is doing her hair.”
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