The woman behind a Change.org petition asking Beyonce and Jay Z to comb their daughter Blue Ivy’s hair says the whole thing was a joke. Jasmine, who started the petition titled “Comb her hair,” wrote in a Facebook status on June 13, 2014 that “obviously the petition was a joke,” according to reports from outlets including Bustle and the Chicago Defender.
The petition claimed Blue Ivy was “suffering from the lack of hair moisture” and placed the blame on her parents. It started small, with only about 10 signatures when it was first reported, then grew to roughly 5,000 as the story spread online. Many people, including fans and commentators, criticized it as a baseless attack on a toddler’s natural hair.
Jasmine says the reaction shows how seriously people take things online and suggests the public was wrong to read her petition as sincere. Critics have pushed back, pointing out that a petition was still created and shared widely, and that the conversation it sparked about Black hair and how a child is judged for it was real, whatever the intent behind it.
Beyonce and Jay Z have not publicly responded to the petition. For now, the takeaway is simple: a joke online can land very differently once strangers start signing on.
