A hairstylist in Baton Rouge is out of a job and at the center of online outrage after she took scissors to an 11-year-old girl’s braids, all because her mom refused to pay a $25 late fee.
Twenty-five dollars and ten minutes late turned into a viral showdown that left more than just hair on the floor.
Here’s the shocking breakdown: a pregnant mother arrived just ten minutes late for her daughter’s 5 pm hair appointment at Draft Picks Barbershop. But the salon apparently has a strict late policy, slapping on a $25 fee for tardiness exceeding ten minutes. The mother, who had already prepaid for the service, understandably refused to cough up the extra cash.
According to the shop owner, the stylist, who worked as an independent contractor, implemented the 10-minute grace period policy.
Shocking video evidence showed how the argument regarding the late fee escalated into a confrontation between the two adults; the mother of the girl sustained injuries on her hand.
At the beginning of the video, the 11-year-old girl is seated in the salon chair while the stylist shows off her newly braided hair. The girl’s mother then walks over from across the barbershop to talk to the hairdresser. The two women begin to argue. Meanwhile, the stylist keeps her grip on the girl’s braids.
Following roughly 40 seconds of what seems to be some conflict, the video is silent; the hairdresser turns to grab scissors from her station with her right hand while her left hand continues holding onto the child’s hair.
At that moment, the hairdresser raises the scissors as though she intends to cut the 11-year-old’s hair.
The mother then yanks the girl’s hair toward herself and away from the scissors. The hairdresser pulls the hair back in her direction, creating what looks like a tug-of-war with the girl’s braids as the prize. This back-and-forth only continues for a brief moment because the mother clasps the daughter’s braids near the girl’s head to her chest while the stylist halts her pulling and seems to begin cutting the longer strands.
In the now-viral video, chaos unfolds as the stylist aggressively snips at the child’s braids while the mother pleads and tries to stop her. Two men eventually stepped in to intervene, but the damage had already been done, literally.
The girl’s neatly braided hair was left in disarray, and the internet was not having it.
After the clip spread across social media, Draft Picks Barbershop released a swift statement. They confirmed the stylist had been fired and offered an apology to the family, acknowledging the situation had “no place” in their shop.
The mother, who is six months pregnant, was reportedly stunned by the stylist’s reaction. She’d already prepaid for the appointment and believed she was well within the allowed time window.
Instead of a hairstyle, her daughter left with a traumatic experience and an internet full of supporters demanding accountability.
