The Strange Rumor About Hillary Clinton's Hair That Sparked An Awkward Moment

Hillary Clinton has been the subject of more than few strange rumors over the years. With so many to her name, it takes a lot for one to catch her off guard, but that's exactly what happened when the former prime minister of Bulgaria expressed concern over the way she was wearing her hair. Speaking with a member of her campaign staff in a short video published to her official YouTube channel during the 2015 Democratic primary, the former secretary of state was asked to tell a fun story about meeting a world leader. In response, she shared that Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov had once asked her if "something was wrong" after she entered a conference room with her hair pulled back because he had heard that "when your hair is pulled back, you are in a bad mood."

Clinton's response was characteristically diplomatic: "Actually, it's a bad hair day."

A leading figure in American politics since serving as first lady alongside her husband, Bill Clinton, Hillary has been a proverbial lightning rod for speculation that goes far beyond the state of her hair. In the mid-90s, right-wing pundits suggested she was a lesbian because she wore pantsuits and took an active role in her husband's administration, a rumor she finally debunked in an interview with Howard Stern in 2016 (via NBC News). Conversely, others have theorized her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, might in fact be the product of an affair with the former mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, Webster Hubbell. However, it's the scrutiny over her appearance that has proven to be the most persistent.

An outspoken feminist her entire life, Hillary Clinton has spent much of her career pushing back against the disproportionate focus given to a woman's physical appearance when compared to her male counterparts. As secretary of state, Clinton called out a member of the press for exactly this. Per Salon, when the reporter asked which clothing designer she preferred, Clinton fired back by asking: "Would you ever ask a man that question?"

It's a fair question considering Clinton has had to contend with questions and comments about her appearance for decades. In the 1990s, the press made hay of the fact she could frequently be seen in a headband, with commentators at the time calling it "lazy" and insinuating it reflected a lack of maturity, according to Slate. In the 2000s, then-Sen. Clinton began wearing her trademark pantsuits, citing a desire to sidestep the attention paid to her outfits. In her 2017 memoir, "What Happened," Clinton wrote that she opted to embrace the pantsuit because she "thought it would be good to do what male politicians do and wear more or less the same thing every day" (via CNN).

Despite her best efforts, it seems Clinton has yet to escape the near-constant commentary on her appearance. But thanks to her refusal to accept this double standard, perhaps one day other women will finally be able to.