TV news anchor Lee Thomas thought his career was over after he was diagnosed with vitiligo, an autoimmune disorder that left large patches of his skin without pigment and led to derision and stares. In a captivating talk, he shares how he discovered a way to counter misunderstanding and fear around his appearance with engagement, dialogue — and a smile. "Positivity is something worth fighting for, and the fight is not with others — it's internal," Thomas says. "If you want to make positive changes in your life, you have to consistently be positive."
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After he wiped the makeup off he should have said “Yes, I became bald”.
Woulda been perfect
He might be shaving because it makes it easy to use makeup.
This is a great Ted Talk Thank you
I’m still waiting for Ted to talk.
You are a beautiful person, inside & out, thank you for sharing your story.
Out? Seriously? I undestand sympathy but this is a very …debatable affirmation
@Nik Grigoryev Hypocrisy I guess?
@Nik Grigoryev well I guess your definition of beauty is very very different then mine, you do you man, but if you ask me that’s quite superficial
@stefan collier who are you trying to convince? Because i think it’s yourself
@PantsB4Squares I believe you are what you are, and I don’t think some stains on his face make him any less beautiful. Don’t need to convince you, myself or anybody about that. If you think any different then Oke. Shame you see it that way. But I stand by my original comment.
*I have vitiligo i suspect it’ll get worse.*
@Sunshine Butterfly i might have to look into That
I see you all the time bro lol. We watch a lot of the same stuff apparently.
Oh my god, just look at that picture of him with a completely white face. If I met him in the street at that point I would never know.. wow
Hehe, shows how superficial we can be, doesn’t it?
He’s right. I noticed the hands within a couple of seconds.
It’s really a shame someone has to try to hide a skin condition.
Like he said, people are very judgemental and even afraid of the unknown & distinct. That’s not a feature you want while working in TV, where even perfect looking people wear a ton of makeup.
I just found out that one of our really close family friends has vitiligo. Ive known her my whole life and never knew she had it bc she refuses to leave her house or be seen without makeup on to cover it. She is so self-conscious about it its really upsetting
To all the people out there with vitiligo, you are as good as anyone else.
Your skin colour doesn’t define you.
We know you didn’t ask for it.
It doesn’t matter now.
Walk with your head held high, you’re just as good as anyone else, maybe even better. 🙂
This comment made me a little happier too. Thank you. I don’t have a bad case of it but its slowly taking over my right wrist at the moment so I had to hear this.
This was probably the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard. Makes you feel like it really is worth it to struggle everyday.
_a precious jihad, a lesson for all_
I was diagnosed with vitiligo when I was a child. The toughest part is the daily mental battle of being stared at. Every new spot that appears on my body makes me worried more that it’s going to impact my life a little more. Thanks for doing this Ted Talk, it makes me feel like I am not alone.
Carlos Matos
You are fearfully and wonderfully made!
~Psalms 139:14
Rabi Yet amen
You made me cry, thanks for such beautiful words. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I have some vitiligo myself, but very small patches so far. I’ve talked with other people who are afflicted, and they tend to get the stares themselves. Because of my experience I simply go over and talk with them. It’s a weird disease with no known cause, but it’s your own immune system attacking your pigments, not a contagious disease. Very brave to get up in front of people and explain the emotional component to this disease. God bless Lee Thomas.
AND U TOO .
Autoimmune illness commonly associated with non celiac gluten sensitivity
Dr William Davis book, total health
@Sunshine Butterfly I’ll definitely look into that Sunshine. As it turns out I do have the celiac gene, and perhaps there is a link there. On a side note, I have been on a Keto diet for the last 6 months and have seen no progression of my disease. On this diet I avoid all gluten based products, and indeed all simple carbs. I limit my carb intake to under 15 gms a day.
I assume you mean “Wheat Belly: Total Health”?
Thanks for this info, much appreciated.
He is talking with such emotions … I mean you’re a great fighter you and all the people with this disease i can already sense that new strong person’s vibe from here
Thank you for this ted talk it really helped not only people with vitiligo but others too
Soo cool the story with the little girl touching his face, lovely… I wish the best!
Thanks for giving this talk. I have it for past three years and my face and hand is far gone. It’s tough. I got good days when I can stare back at people and then I have many days when I just look down defeated. It’s a struggle. Every glimpse I see of myself startled me because I am looking at a stranger still. There are good ppl out there that talk to me indifferently and shake hands or pat me or little gestures that build me up and they don’t even know it. I remember the one lady that took the grocery cart I was about to put back and said I will take it back and used it. I wanted to say thanks to her because she made my day by not being scared of me. It’s mental struggle as he said.
Be brave and best of luck!
I had no idea that the patches came and went like that! that’s actually really fascinating. I would love to see a time lapse of someones face as the patches move and shift, I think it would look really pretty 🙂
Imagine being the world’s most famous person, while going through this. That was Michael Jackson in the 80s. No wonder he got messed up.
Yeah and the media led the world to believe he hated his own race and wanted to be something other than he is. But no he did not, he stayed true to himself and close to his family, he did not get messed up wtf ? He was such a strong person. He also had other diseases like lupus which he suffered from a lot.
maggie he got messed up pretty bad in the end because of getting lost in the fame and glory.
I heard that he had bleached his skin because he hated his own skin color and in retrospect that must have been a large weight he was carrying. Media will take any attention they can get whether or not it is detrimental to the persons involved.
Jackson had other problems as well, and they were serious issues.
@Arianna Turtles True the media will do anything for money, as they are nothing to do with informing people. It all about putting on an addictive show that will gain sponsors that will pay them for people to watch their program. They have no concern about how many or who they harm in the process.
I can only imagine what Michael Jackson had to go through with this skin disorder the poor guy.
PS .. I’m white but have small dime to quarter size patches where it’s whiter & wont tan on my arms & face .. never asked for diagnosis but do know white people can have it .. I can cover with makeup cuz wouldn’t want any one else to know
MJbyYR : Thanks for the info, but I wouldn’t spend time doing research on that pedophile.
@MJbyYR Thank You!
@Walking D-day Maybe you should before coming to that conclusion….
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeltLPR4SjLr67tBqTzWC9Hdnh_UURKMx
@Walking D-day And I mean do actual research.
https://themichaeljacksonallegations.com
I remember when I was a child, one day an Albino kid came to the restaurant with his parents. I had never seen an Albino before. But my parents immediately told me, hey don’t stare at them, it’s rude, that’s just a skin condition. We should teach our kids about these conditions and how it’s normal. That way you wouldn’t see people staring at your for 5 minutes.