NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com |
A Black barber’s decision to cut a Confederate flag design into the hair of a white customer has spurred a fierce debate online and among customers, but he and the shop owner are standing firm.
Fade N Up owner Corey “Scissorhands” Sutter posted a defense of the design on Facebook Thursday, July 6.
“He seemed kind of scared when he first came in,” barber Demontre Heard tells News On 6 Monday, July 3, of the unidentified customer in Oklahoma City. He wanted a design inspired by his favorite rapper Alabama native Yelawolf, whose record label logo is a flag featuring stars and lightening bolts.
“It was just going to be too much, so he asked if I could do the Confederate flag on his head, and in the back of my head, I’m like, ‘What type of stuff are you on?'” Heard says.
Despite his feelings, Heard gave the customer the cut he asked for.
Amidst all the fades, afros and tapered cuts he sees everyday, Sutter says the stars and bars was definitely the most memorable design he’s seen cut into hair.
“I’ve actually done Black power in [their] head and all this type of stuff,” Sutter says. “It’s been some gang members that wanted their sets in[their] head, but I never thought that would happen.”
On Saturday, July 1, Sutter posted the controversial cut on Facebook which drew hundreds of comments and shares — and national media attention. In a later post, Sutter said the awareness was great for business.
Some slammed the look.
Others applauded the decision to oblige the customer.
“You have the right to what’s your opinion,” Heard says to News On 6. “But at the end of the day, your opinion doesn’t pay my bills and I have kids to take care of.”
