For many people, bright pink hair is just a colour choice – a way of showcasing some personality.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!But for Emily Benschoter, it became a workplace standoff.
The 29-year-old from Georgia says she was forced to start wearing wigs after her employer told her pink hair wasn’t permitted — despite already accepting the job.
And instead of quietly blending in, she decided to make a statement.
“Dying my hair for a job I work at for 40 hours per week wasn’t an option,” Benschoter told Newsweek. “I am a self-expressive person and I feel very confident with pink hair so I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair.”
Benschoter had landed a front-of-house role in the hospitality industry without an in-person or video interview, meaning her new manager had never seen her before hiring her. Before her first shift, she reached out to clarify whether her pink hair would be allowed.
It wasn’t.
However, rather than changing it, she suggested wearing a wig. And that’s when things took a surprising turn.
Instead of choosing subtle, natural-looking options, Benschoter began deliberately selecting what she calls “terrible wigs” — exaggerated, wacky styles that quickly became a talking point online.
One TikTok video, showing her in a blonde, shoulder-length wig, included the on-screen text: “When you have pink hair but corporate does not approve so you wear terrible wigs.” It racked up more than 950,000 views and 49,000 likes.
She says the reaction from customers — and social media — has been part of the point.
“It’s dehumanising that I can’t be accepted at face value because my hair is a non-traditional colour,” Benschoter told Newsweek. “It’s so superficial that my hair colour is an obstacle.
“I prefer my pink hair, it’s me to my core. So now I purposely pick wacky wigs which is quite funny.”
Her philosophy is simple: “The worse the wig, the better.”
She also said that her wigs have become talking points for the customers – with many agreeing that it is “insane” that she couldn’t just show off her pink hair.
Online, many viewers have labelled her approach “malicious compliance” — technically following the rules, while highlighting how absurd they may seem.
Others – understandably – were baffled. “They think this is better?” one user questioned, with another commenting: “Please tell me that the SECOND you clock out, you’re carrying your wig in your hand to make it SO CLEAR.”
Some even shared their own experiences of workplace appearance policies.
“I had to cover my blue hair at Applebee’s so I wore a jheri curl wig,” one commenter wrote, with another typing: “Our local hospital has this rule. My friends wear Karen wigs that match. It’s unhingedly hilarious.”
“We aren’t allowed to show our tattoos at work. My boss had a small, beautiful one she covered with a SpongeBob bandaid every day,” someone else commented.
The issue of hair in the workplace isn’t new.
For example, back in 2012, Disney Parks in the US removed a 60-YEAR rule that its cast members were not allowed to have beards, per The Guardian.
And the issue has been particularly prevalent for black employees.
In 2019, the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) was passed in California to protect against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles, extending protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists and knots.
However, because Benschoter’s hair is dyed pink rather than natural, those legal protections do not apply in her case.
Benschoter has continued posting wig videos under her TikTok username @emuhleeebee, turning what could have been a quiet workplace compromise into a public conversation – and amassing her more than 34,000 followers in the process.
Featured image credit: WorldManual/TikTok/@emuhleeebee (screenshot)
