Law Roach Says Zendaya's Oscar Dreadlocks Led to the Birth of The Crown Act: 'It Created a Global Conversation'

The stylist reflected on the famous red carpet beauty moment during Teen Vogue Summit on Nov. 23

Law Roach is "grateful" for his longtime client and close friend Zendaya.

At the Nov. 23 Teen Vogue Summit, the stylist recalled Zendaya's powerful choice to wear dreadlocks to the 2015 Academy Awards, when she was 18 years old. At the time, Fashion Police co-host Giuliana Rancic drew backlash for a comment she made that night about the young star looking like "she smells like patchouli oil or weed."

Though he doesn't call her out by name, Roach said that Rancic's "really awful comments" sparked important discourse.

"That instance went on to actually change the way Black people's hair was accepted in schools and the workplace," he said during a panel discussion. "So although we did not set out to make this big statement, because of the events that happened, The Crown Act was actually birthed from that incident."

Created in 2019, The Crown Act (which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair), ensures protections against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists and knots in the workplace and schools.

Roach continued that while he and Zendaya "didn't know that it would happen that way," they are "grateful that it did because it really created a global conversation of what's appropriate for Black people's hair, especially Black women."

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At the time, Zendaya called Rancic's comments "outrageously offensive."

"There is a fine line between what is funny and disrespectful," she wrote on Instagram.

"Someone said something about my hair at the Oscars that left me in awe," the Emmy winner added. "Not because I was relishing in rave outfit reviews, but because I was hit with ignorant slurs and pure disrespect."

She continued, "To say that an 18-year-old young woman with locs must smell of patchouli oil or 'weed' is not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive. I don't usually feel the need to respond to negative things but certain remarks cannot go unchecked."

The TV host later apologized on-air, telling viewers that "something I said last night did cross the line." (Zendaya responded to Rancic's mea culpa in a Twitter statement, writing that she hoped "others negatively affected by her words can also find it in their hearts to accept her apology as well.")

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In a 2021 interview with W Magazine, the then-24-year-old star reflected on her response to Rancic.

"That's how change happens," she shared. "And it made me think, 'How could I always have a lasting impact on what people saw and associated with People of Color?'"