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The Weave Wars stretched the imagination of what hair could look like. From the hair-icopter to a hairdo with actual, live finches, The Ricki Lake Show spotlighted the artistry of fantasy hair. In this jam-packed episode, Ricki and Kalen are joined by the top two competitors of Weave Wars: Sharon Shearer and Weaven Steven. They talk about their most memorable creations and how The Ricki Lake show catapulted their careers. Plus, hairstylist Clayton Hawkins (whose clients include Olivia Rodrigo, Dakota Johnson, and Emma Roberts) recounts the time he got mistaken for Ricki when he was 12 years old!

Please note, Raised By Ricki contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

Watch Ricki and Kalen’s recent appearance on Access Hollywood where Ricki gets surprised by Weaven Steven!

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

Ricki Lake, Steven, Clayton Hawkins, Kalen Allen, Sharon Shearer

Ricki Lake  01:40

Welcome everyone, welcome to another episode of Raised by Ricki. I’m me, Ricki Lake.

Kalen Allen  01:47

And I’m Kalen Allen. How are you feeling Ricki, you okay?

Ricki Lake  01:51

I’m great. I’m great. full transparency. Half inevitable.

Kalen Allen  01:59

I knew I knew.

Ricki Lake  02:00

You can tell, you can always tell. It’s kind of like when I was on the masked singer. Everyone knew I was the Reagan; you know? Well, the one thing or one of the things I love about podcasting is that I don’t have to do my hair and makeup like I did when I had my old show. But are you appreciating some of the looks I had back then?

Kalen Allen  02:23

I love it. You know, I’m a glam girl. You know, I love to get all glammed up and stuff like that. No, you’re doing your own hair and makeup. You had a team, right?

Ricki Lake  02:32

Oh my god, I had an entire team but I you know, because of my whole hair journey, which I’m sure we’re gonna get into in today’s episode, but like, I was self-conscious. I didn’t love my hair. I’d see my hair shedding. But I’m looking back at these clips. And what was I complaining about? Honestly.

Kalen Allen  02:48

Yeah, I was giving it to the girl. Okay, Miss Ricki Lake with eat it up. Remind me, I need to send you the video of the time I tried to dye my hair and it came out green. And I shaved my head on Facebook Live.

Ricki Lake  03:02

Okay, you’re gonna send me a story about it.

Kalen Allen  03:06

It’s chaotic. I’m going to send you a video of it.

Ricki Lake  03:09

What year was this for you? I was in college. Did you rock a bald head like I did?

Kalen Allen  03:15

Oh yeah, I cut it all off.

Ricki Lake  03:17

Okay, so weave wars, you guys, it was a pageant show. You know, it had a lot of bells and whistles. And it was basically to celebrate fantasy hair, Black hair. And mostly, I think it was mostly all African American black hair. And it was these incredible artists that we would bring on and it would be a contest, like there was always a winner. And they were just super fun. And for me, for me, like I had this like real curiosity and this interest with hair in general, obsessed with like, how do they sleep with that? How, like, I just it just was like one of those things I was super interested in curious about. And so I loved those episodes. And on top of it, you know, I was dealing with my own sort of internal battle with my hair, my hair shedding, my hair, you know, just not looking and feeling the way I wanted it to. So I you know, it was it was I was going through something that was like, deeply serious and embarrassing at the time that I was also totally, like, just in awe of what they were able to do with their own hair. And so I loved those episodes. I wanted to do them all the time. And we had these images of Sharon the weave master, weavin Steven and all these other artists that were come on and they took it super seriously. So there was like this, this like, in one way it was really serious business to them. And in another way it was super fun and like surprising and what they managed to do with these hairdos it was it was it was truly my favorite.

Kalen Allen  04:48

I’m excited. I think from the episodes that I’ve seen every have we […] they are so fun and it’s also such a thing that has always been so important to the black community. You know, especially when I was growing up in Kansas City like the way that black women would go sit in salons for hours to get their hair press relaxed and twisted and twirled and all of that.

Ricki Lake  05:11

So today’s show is a love letter to weave wars. We’ve got three amazing guests, the weave master, weavin Steven and Clayton Hawkins. You’ll learn more about the two guys later. But first, Kalen, tell us about Sharon.

Kalen Allen  05:25

So I’m very excited because today we have Sharon Shearer coming on, all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio, also famously known as the weave master.

Ricki Lake  05:45

Oh my goodness, it’s so nice to see you Sharon. I’m so happy to talk to you, Sharon. Sharon, the weave master is here. This is a very exciting day for me personally because you know your shows, the shows you are on the weave wars. One of my favorite, my favorite.

Kalen Allen  06:08

Tell the listeners exactly what weave wars was on the show. Like what was the concept?

Sharon Shearer  06:14

For me, weave wars was the epitome of the who’s who in the hair industry in the 90s, it was an opportunity to show off your creativity. And do you know the some of the most fabulous unheard of exploits in the hair industry ever. And so weave wars for me was like the ultimate statement that, you know, my mom made it you know, I’m doing the daggone thing. And the Ricki Lake show was the height of that for my career in that era, because it just said, hey, you’re at the top of the industry in your league.

Kalen Allen  07:07

That’s amazing.

Ricki Lake  07:08

This was late in the season, in the seasons of Ricki Lake right? That Ricki Lake Show had been on the air for a number of, for most of the years, right?

Sharon Shearer  07:17

And when you started doing it, I remember my very first episode was the day after Halloween. And I don’t know if you remember this episode, but I had this French roll. And I had like, put the zipper around the French roll, and I unzipped it. And I said, Ricki, her hair is so sweet. You can taste it and not through candy out to the audience.

Ricki Lake  07:41

I completely, I was dying over that. I absolutely remember that. That was incredible. But can we go back to your own hair journey? Like how did you get into hair? I know when you were a kid, you had a pretty traumatic experience.

Sharon Shearer  07:56

I did. I lost a lot of hair. When I was in like the sixth grade, my sister gave me this really strong relaxer, which was too strong for us, you know, me and the sixth grade. And so my hair fell out. And the sixth grade, ahead like, into hair. And so I was being teased by the kids, you know, bobblehead scallywag ain’t got no here to back, you know, all that got hooked up. And so it just gave me this huge complex. And I even remember, I wrote this poem. And I said, I wish to be a beautiful girl with long hair straight or curl, not too short, not too tall. I wouldn’t be ugly, not at all. And so I know, that just speaks volumes to how it had impacted me. And this young man, when I was maybe in the seventh or eighth grade, gave me a weave. And I realized that I could do that. I was like, I could do that in braided the braid. And so the hair to the brain. And so I started sewing my own hair in and then I started doing all my friends and my family and my neighbors and I’m still doing it.

Kalen Allen  09:03

So that at what point did you decide that you were going to do it as an art form, that you were going to start making these exquisite displays of hair?

Ricki Lake  09:13

That’s what I was gonna ask.

Sharon Shearer  09:16

Well, you know, it was like an evolution. I was doing hair and then I got into the platform artistry through BBD products. So they were taking me to the big hair shows New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and I saw this fantasy here. So I started challenging myself. Like what can I do next? And as a matter of fact, the when I did the birds when I had the bird flower..

Ricki Lake  09:45

Oh yeah, I was dying to know if you were responsible for the pinches.

Sharon Shearer  09:50

That was me. That is the thing that I probably would say I’m most famous for now. Everybody remembers when I had the birds fly out to grow was here on your show.

Ricki Lake  10:00

All right, we have to go and look and dissect this incredible moment.  My hair look good there. Kalen is speechless.

Kalen Allen  10:44

Oh, my gosh, I’m obsessed with this.

Sharon Shearer  10:47

I actually had a dream that I put birds in a girl’s hair. It was a dream. This was birthed out of an actual dream. And I was like, I automatically knew exactly how I was going to do it, right, because nobody had ever done it before. And I flew from Cincinnati to New York with finches that did not make it through the flight. Unfortunately, I had no idea.

Ricki Lake  11:12

So we lost two batches of finches?

Sharon Shearer  11:20

Nobody knew that when I got to New York, I was devastated. Then I was on a scramble to try to find finches in New York.

Ricki Lake  11:31

Did you ask my producers for help on that?

Sharon Shearer  11:36

No, I didn’t ask them for help. Because I had this underlying feeling that maybe this wasn’t going to be like, immediately. But I felt like my career was like, you know, hanging in the balance on these birds. And so I’ll never forget, one of them came back, you know, in the green room was like, wait a minute, you got birds. Like, oh, wait a minute. This might be a problem. I don’t know. I think the Peter people were somebody that’s gonna have a problem. Somebody said, you know what? I was like, no, this is imperative. I like I had the birds or my whole thing. If I don’t do the birds is over. I have to have the birds. And so they said, you know what, we’re going to ask Ricki because she’s a bird lover. And if she says it’s okay, then we’re gonna go for we’re not going to worry about it.

Ricki Lake  12:36

I didn’t know the risk. I didn’t know. I just so I you know, I’m torn. It’s bittersweet. Because that was such an amazing. Okay, so the, you know, television studios, you know how, I mean, the rafters were 18 feet high. They couldn’t climb and try to chase a bird that’s up on the rap. I mean, it just was impossible. They just never came back. They never came down. They just stayed there.

Kalen Allen  13:05

What’s fascinating to me is one growing up, I was obsessed with hair, like my mother used to let me like play in her hair all the time when I was growing up. But I think hair in general, is such an important thing within the Black community. And Black women will spend hours in the salon doing their hair like crazy amount of hours. That’s something that I couldn’t do. I hate going to the barber shop to even get my hair cut, because of how long it can take some times. But I find it interesting because I also find that Black hair stylists really created a standard because I remember, you know, watching hair shows growing up and all that. But my question for you is so with having this opportunity to show this part of black culture on this national Syndicated Television Show, what was important to you? What did that mean for you?

Sharon Shearer  14:07

Well, a big part of what it meant for me was that it is an acceptable, valid career choice. Because when I first you know, consider getting into the industry. It wasn’t considered a valid career choice. It was like, oh, you only do hair, you know, as a hobby is, you know, a backup. It’s just a little side hustle. And so like I said, I left corporate to do you know, pursue a career in the hair industry. And so, being on the Ricki Lake Show validated my career choice and solidified every doubt I ever had in my mind that hair could take me to heights that I never imagined and it did. And Ricki, I must say that being on your show and even being here today Raised by Ricki because I was raised by Ricki. It has had a lasting impact on my life like life changing impact. It created so much validation in my name, my brand, and it still is carrying me to this day. It was a major life changing for my career. And I have never been able to tell you how much I appreciated the opportunity that you gave me but it changed my life and is still having an impact today.

Ricki Lake  15:37

That means so much to hear. Thank you so much. Yeah, you brought so much joy. You know, for me personally, like I had so much fun exploring this world that I knew nothing about. Alright, you guys, we have to take a quick break when we come back. I asked Sharon about her work now with helping women with severe hair loss. What an angel she is, stay with us. Can we talk about the fact that you now work, your work now is primarily helping women with severe hair loss.

Sharon Shearer  18:38

Absolutely. So as you know, the years went on more and more people kept coming to me for you know, hair solutions that you know either you know, can you do a miracle weave or and then they started bringing me wigs and I was like oh, I don’t work for wigs. I was like you can do it with Master. If anybody can do it, you can you know and they were shown with the glue and the wig and they were like I know you can work it out. So I just kept leaning in that direction because it did pull at my heartstrings. And a couple years ago I had a little girl and Lamar Yeah, that was her Nayla Marya and she had severe alopecia. And she’s like seven years old. And I did her hair on live, on my Facebook Live and it went like completely viral because she was so happy. You would think that I had rehearsed with her. She was like yeah, you know, and she got this total transformation. And so that is one of you know, the things that I strive to do is make hair replacement affordable and accessible to anyone so if they can’t get in my for profit business, which is transformations hair restoration, then I have a nonprofit glorious crowns that you know will help supplement that for individual schools that are suffering from any form of hair loss.

Ricki Lake  20:03

You know, this strikes a chord right, Sharon, you know, you know, I had my own struggles that I kept inside for like, I mean decades decades decades, you know, I hairspray when I did hairspray they dyed my hair, they peroxide it and it was […] in the movie about triple peroxide it up, you know, and they, you know, would have to do it every couple of weeks because my roots would grow out but it was only half my hair like the top hat. It ruined my hair. And I’m okay with it because it gave me my career. And I you know, it all worked out in the end. But it was years later when I did Mrs. Winterbourne in 1995 and I went on a crash diet and that my hair, just shed and shed and shed and I hadn’t go to, you know, the specialty place I was I was on the air. I was doing the show day in and day out and having to put heat on my hair, I was having to look a certain way. And it was that’s when I cut my hair off. I mean, if you remember the years, I had short, short hair, I was going forward to me more and ghost and I didn’t quite get the hair.

Sharon Shearer  21:03

But it was always, it was always cute. It was shocking, but it was cute. Because you know, we were able to see all of you, your beauty because hair doesn’t make you, you make the hair.

Ricki Lake  21:14

I went, that has been a journey. And that has been like my, my secret, you know, and it was I mean, I don’t even know how to like articulate it in a way like how deep this ran for me, this like almost like a trauma.

Sharon Shearer  21:29

It is a trauma.

Kalen Allen  21:31

What is your current state of your hair, Ricki?

Ricki Lake  21:34

I’m at peace with my hair that is like that is like the biggest thing. Because every birthday when I blow my candles out for like 15 years, I would basically my wish would be to be at peace with my own hair, you know, and don’t color it anymore. I actually appreciate like I don’t love my hair, like I’m never going to be in a place of like, oh my god, you know, I wish I had the hair I used to have the amount of it, you know, just by naturally aging, I have something called androgenetic alopecia which is super common and super, like, you know, it’s hereditary, it’s wear and tear, it’s aging, it’s, I have fine hair, you know, it’s like all the recipe is what I have. And so many other women have, and I use this product or clinic and it’s really helped me I’m actually a spokesperson for them, which is really kind of rare, because I’ve never done anything I’ve never ever ever, like stamped my name on something, but it has helped me and I think in addition to that, like helping to keep my hair and scalp healthy. I also don’t, I don’t worry about it, I don’t I don’t stress about it, I don’t look in the mirror and like Kate what I see and, or have to hide, you know, and where for me wearing the hair piece that I wore, I wore a specialty thing like this woman, this one woman, a good friend of mine, she helped me with coming up with like a system that worked for me. But as the years went on, and I was I didn’t like to have it cleaned and taken off, you know, because it would, she would remove all the mirrors. So I wouldn’t even know what I looked like without it. You know, and for years, for like five years, this was like, from 2014 until I shaved my head and 2020 like I wore this thing and had to get it tightened every 10 days, you know, and it sat on the top of my head and it was hot and it was itchy. And then I’d have gray hair. So I’d have to color my hair underneath you have to stick the hair color and, and my scalp would burn. And just the dealing with this issue which to people that never struggled with hair. They don’t know what they’re taught, I’m talking about, but to you, Sharon and to your clients and to the people, the millions and millions of women, primarily men, of course, it’s a whole different thing, because it’s socially acceptable. But yeah, that just it just started getting harder and harder to just live through. And my whole my brand as we talked about is authenticity. Like I’m real, you know, the slogan on the show was it’s gotta be real it’s got to be Ricky and I just it’s I was battling this thing where I this part of me was phony this part of me wasn’t being truly myself and making the decision at the end of on the last day of 2019 on the new year, new decade. And I said New Me, you know, I just had to surrender and just say fuck it. And I mean, it was such a transformation for me that was obviously a physical one. But internally like to just come into a place of loving myself exactly as I am. So you asked me Kalen how I am with my hair. I am great. I am free. I am free.

Sharon Shearer  24:35

My hair loss drove me for a long time Ricki, I’m positive about it, you know because never really getting that head of hair back that I lost as a little girl. I think subconsciously develop the weave master you know, just always wanting this particular looking hair that I could never achieve with my natural hair. And it took a long time for me like us to come to terms with, okay, I don’t have that hair. And it is extremely emotional. And I can’t tell you because I have a private studio. And so my clients require privacy, they need to come somewhere where they know they’re not going to be on display and all of that. And almost 95% of them cry, the first time they sit in my chair and expose their hair loss to me like that, almost all of them cry. And so one of the things I did not just for them, but for me, too, was under my weed, because I wear this because this is my money. But under my weave, I have about an inch and a half a hair, and I shave it, I’ll shave it all the way to the side to the white meat, I shave it all the way down a lot of times and you know, I have a wonderful husband who’s like, he doesn’t care.

Ricki Lake  25:54

I mean, I want to do it again, I loved how it felt. I was into it.

Kalen Allen  25:59

It’s actually empowering, considering the society standards that the world puts on women, especially when it comes to their hair, to see women that have found freedom in the opposite, you know, and I think that’s a strong message that we are allowing people to experience but also, I think that’s probably why you were obsessed with weave wars, Ricki is because the hair was able to be used as a sign of expression. And I think you as an artist are obsessed, just as I am with anything that comes from the creative spirit. You know, like this hair was more than a beauty standard on the show. It was an art form. It was a sign of freedom, whatever to do with it. Whatever you wanted with your hair, you know?

Sharon Shearer  26:54

Yep, absolutely.

Ricki Lake  26:55

Since you’re on the show, whatever, 20 years ago, 25 years, where’s your life now? What’s happening? You’re married.

Sharon Shearer  27:03

My life is amazing. I’ve been married 17 years now to the love of my life. Gary, big G. That’s what we call him. And he should have a show called everybody loves Gary because he is amazing man. And I’ve written two books, one of which is my autobiography from the mess of the message. I spent 8 years in seminary, I have a master’s in theology. I’m a licensed minister. I’m a missionary. I built a church in the Dominican Republic. feed the homeless here in Cincinnati. I love my community. I have six grandchildren.

Ricki Lake  27:43

And you drive a Bentley. I understand. You are the epitome of living your best life.

Sharon Shearer  27:53

Living my best life. Love it, love it. And I have to give you a lot of credit for having such a tremendous impact you gave my brand and my business so much integrity. And it just caused me to just flourish and it’s still caring a lot. As seen on TV, weave master, as seen on TV. I own a few other shows, but nothing had the impact that Ricki Lake did.

Ricki Lake  28:24

Sharon, I just love you. And thank you so much for this beautiful, beautiful interview.

Sharon Shearer  28:30

Thank you, it was my pleasure.

Ricki Lake  28:33

gosh, that was incredible to see the weave master again. And I just love that she’s living her absolute best life and especially helping women with severe hair loss. What a gift. Thank you so much, Sharon. Okay, no conversation about weave wars would be complete without talking to another star of the Ricki Lake Show. Weaven Steven is here and we’re gonna do that right after this break. Oh my gosh, Weaven Steven I am really excited to talk with him. His presence and His art were a huge source of joy for me. over the 11 years I did the Ricki Lake Show. So without further ado.

Ricki Lake  31:59

Hey, Steven, I feel weird calling you Steven. You’re Weaven Steven.

Steven  32:03

Always call me Weaven Steven.

Ricki Lake  32:07

You’re on my show. How many times, five? Okay, what do you recall describe to us your first time at the show your first appearance.

Steven  32:17

My first appearance, I was so excited. I was so nervous. It was so it was so big. In fact, I think when I got the call at the salon, I even got a little misty because I was just so overwhelmed with excitement to get be able to get onto your show, which I watched for years. You know, and just to present myself and my hair creations and, you know, come to New York and it was just it was it was so exciting. I just can’t even explain it. And then then the whole the rest of the group was there that I pretty much knew everybody else.

Ricki Lake  32:46

Okay. And did they say how many models like Did you bring the models with you? How did that go?

Steven  32:52

I brought one model with me. And I did a for bird combination hairdo that you could lift off.

Ricki Lake  32:58

Did you say bird?

Kalen Allen  32:59

Yes. We have that clip. Reminds me of, it makes me of course, you know, growing up in Black culture. I just know how extravagant hair can be. But it specifically reminds me a B.A.P.S.. The Halle Berry movie loved it. Like that’s what it makes me think of is the hair that was in B.A.P.S. Because it was always just crazy and outrageous. I love it.

Ricki Lake  34:03

So what did your appearance on the show do for your career? Was it immediate?

Steven  34:07

It was it was pretty much immediate. Ricky, I want to tell you one thing. The main thing is you your show actually built the foundation for my brand.

Ricki Lake  34:18

I would imagine you are probably the unique white. You know, it’s very more prevalent to have person of color doing black fantasy hair, right? Pick out like a sore thumb.

Steven  34:29

. Oh, yeah. Well, I when I was the producer of hair wars, we always talk about this every now and again. He goes, Yeah, I remember when you’d come to the show. And you were like the only White guy in the audience and you were all pumped up cheering everybody on. And then the next thing you approached me and I’m like, what’s he gonna do here? I hit the stage and blew the roof off.

Steven  34:29

Well, you know what’s funny about that is it, I think in general, I think black people are loved bit more receptive to letting go of sharing our culture, you know?

Kalen Allen  35:07

I think we are more accepting with letting people in. I think in recent years, there has been a lot of controversy that has come up with that of Black people saying, well, maybe we need to get keep more because people do take advantage of, you know, Black culture or something like that. But I think what is very clear about your respect to the art form, yes, is that you gave credit to where it came from 100% and celebrated everything that it was and I think that’s the difference and that’s how you don’t fall into like appropriation and stuff like that, because you’re giving it credit.

Ricki Lake  35:43

Should we show the clip of the famous.

Steven  35:49

Yes, please. Yes, because that way I want to say something about that was probably the best, was either the best or one of the best moments of my life. Okay, winning that award on live television on your show, Ricki was that I that I could probably actually say that was probably the best moment of my life, career wise. Love it. And I have my award sitting right here.

Ricki Lake  36:11

Amazing. That was amazing. It was a good catch, actually. You didn’t know where that thing was gonna go?

Kalen Allen  36:38

Was it just a toy Helicopter that you had wrapped in hair?

Steven  36:42

Yes. In fact, I want to tell you I worked on that that for about probably a good week, because I had to I had to, it was kind of like, a weights and measurement thing. It was kind of hold. Oh, yeah, I had to make sure that the hair wasn’t have too heavy. I had to use like, the thinnest possible pieces, I had to make sure that didn’t get caught in the blaze. I was literally flying it off the roof of my car to practice. I was outside looking crazy. Flying this toy helicopter off the roof of my car, just make sure that it worked. It was the you know, there wasn’t too much weight on it. And also, that I could catch it. And I cut my fingers a few times on the blades, but it was all worth it.

Ricki Lake  37:28

You had to make sacrifices for that piece of art. And you look at it as an art form.

Steven  37:33

Yes, most definitely. A lot of times, you know, when I’m doing different things and submissions and stuff like that, I submit to like a magazine or something else. And they always take students they see hair, they take it and put it with the Health and Beauty and I have to tell them it is not health and beauty category. It is art, fashion, pop culture.

Ricki Lake  37:58

Mm hmm. It was something that I will never forget. And I just I appreciate you. I appreciate you being on my show time and time again and just bringing your magic and educating us all on the fantasy hair worlds. It’s great to see you Steven.

Steven  38:13

Thank you so much. It was so greatly appreciated.

Ricki Lake  38:17

It was so amazing to hear Stevens say that the best moment of his professional career was winning weave wars. Oh my gosh, after we taped his interview with Steven, you guys, Kalen and I were on Access Hollywood promoting this podcast. And they surprise me by bringing Steven out and having a total impromptu fantasy hair show. The best part was Kalen, because he was of course the final model and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to check it out. The link is in the show notes. It is incredible. And finally we’ve heard from two people who made weave wars so successful and now to end this episode. We’re going to hear from someone who is super successful in the hair world in part because of weave wars, I can’t wait to talk to Clayton Hawkins who first burst on my radar because of a certain viral TikTok video.

Kalen Allen  39:11

Oh my gosh, there are two Ricki’s.

Ricki Lake  39:16

Oh my god, we’re gonna jump right in. So Clayton, thank you. Thank you for making me laugh like harder. I mean, that pose that I came to me because I don’t do TikTok really, I can’t figure it out. I’m too old for it.

Clayton Hawkins  39:30

You’ll figure it out. You got to be on TikTok.

Ricki Lake  39:33

I think I’m allergic to it. But your video and is it really true that you people thought you were me, at the age of 12.

Clayton Hawkins  39:43

So yeah, I made a TikTok video about the first time because did happen many times that I was mistaken for Ricki Lake as yes, a 12 year old boy. I was 12 years old and it was late at night my sister took me to the movies. I felt so grown up I had just gotten a senator I thought I looked like I was on Boy Meets World they got a center cut sort of like, what you would now call a butt cut hair cut. But I thought like, Okay, I’m gonna get discovered by Lou Pearlman, I’m going to be in a boy band and 321. So I go to this restaurant […] in the valley rest in peace. So I sit at the table. My sister’s there. I’m 12 years old. I think I’m so cool. And the waitresses are like giving me weird looks and like kind of whispering and I’m like, did they see me at a dot orielles production of grease, like what’s happening? And so they come to the table and they start giving us free food for us. They give us pancakes and they give us drinks and my sister’s like, why are you giving us we didn’t order this. And she looks at me and she goes, I watch you. I watch you every day. And so we’re at first we’re very sketched out, we’re like, okay, it’s giving stalker, it’s giving fear. So then we’re sort of like, what do you mean? And she’s like, on channel 13. You’re Ricky, aren’t you? And my sister’s literally like shaking like I can still see like the like linoleum table shaking, like trying to hold in laughter but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings or embarrassed or and I wanted the food. Before catfishing was a thing I said. Yes. And I did take pictures, and everyone and I was, but Ricki I was really nice. So I felt like I was a good ambassador.

Ricki Lake  41:25

That is so funny. So I mean, were you tall? Because I think of a 12 year old as being a child.

Clayton Hawkins  41:32

I stopped growing at around fourth grade. So I’ve been 5’10 since like, fourth grade. Okay, so I was tall.

Ricki Lake  41:39

I guess but you had short haircut.

Clayton Hawkins  41:44

What voice did you use?

Clayton Hawkins  41:48

I don’t think I had to change my voice. I think the voice is presenting pretty fem from the jump.

Ricki Lake  41:54

Oh my god. No. Are you a fan of the show?

Clayton Hawkins  41:57

Oh my god. I grew up on I’m so I’m in my wig room, my wig closet right now. And this is because of the weave wars. I grew up watching Ricki Lake every day. Of course, I was a huge fan the weave Wars episode. episodes in particular, if you can’t achieve it, weave it. If you can’t extend it, pretend it, I’ll never forget.

Ricki Lake  42:16

So you now do hair for some really like big people?

Clayton Hawkins  42:20

Yeah, so I’m an editorial hairstylist. Because I feel like it’s cringy to say like celebrity hair. Like it’s humiliating to be like, I’m a celebrity hairstylist. Because I’m like, I don’t know. It’s just it’s cringy. The word celebrity is cringy. But yeah, so I’m an editorial hairstylist. I work with like pop stars and actresses and travel around brushing hair for a living. It’s very, very, very fun.

Ricki Lake  42:43

I’m so happy for your success. I mean, it’s such a pleasure to talk to you and to feel like you know, because I know I love those weave wards, too. I am obsessed with hair. I’m obsessed. I just am still it’s still like something I could talk about. Ad nauseam. Thank you so much. Maybe you get to do my hair someday.

Ricki Lake  43:00

Ah, you guys, this was so fun for me, from the webmaster to Weaven Steven to Clayton Hawkins. Honestly, I cannot believe he said he had the Ricki. Anyway, I hope you can tell how much I love weave wars and how personal this topic of hair also is for me. And as I said to Kailyn I really am at peace with my hair. And I can’t believe I can say that and feel that I never thought I’d be in a place to be okay with it. Now, before we go, there’s even more Raised by Ricki with Lemonada Premium. These premium episodes are so much fun because I get to answer questions that you send in for me. Coming up on Monday, you asked me about my favorite Broadway shows. And I mean, I could talk about Broadway for hours but I did pick a few favorites. And if you want to know what I said, you should subscribe to Lemonada premium right now in Apple podcasts.

CREDITS  44:03

Raised by Ricki with Ricki Lake and Kalen Allen is a Lemonada Media Original. This show is produced by Claire Jones and Nancy Rosenbaum. Our associate producer is Tiffany Buoy. Our senior director of new content is Rachel Neill, VP of weekly production is Steve Nelson and our executive producers Stephanie Wittels Wachs, Jessica Cordova Kramer and DeRay McKesson, and the show is mixed by Johnny Vince Evans. Music is written and produced by Jellybean Benitez, Jason Peralta and Jay Coos for Jelly Bean Productions.