YouTuber and Podcast host Tim Pool is partially bald despite his relatively young age. This was first discovered in 2017 when a fellow YouTuber removed his signature beanie hat in public for a video, but Pool was never publicly photographed without the hat before this incident.
(Explicit language warning)
In the video, which was taken while he was covering tensions between far-right and left-wing political demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, Pool reacts angrily and threatens to assault the person removing his hat.
Pool goes on to claim that he wears the beanie so that he isn’t recognized in his day-to-day life, where presumably he doesn’t wear the hat.
Only Pool himself knows if this is in fact the reason, or if he’s just sensitive about his male pattern baldness as a young man. From the time he shot to relative fame online when live-streaming the Occupy Wall Street protests, he had never been seen without the hat.
Lots of bald men wear hats for a variety of reasons, and whether it should be up to someone else to ‘expose’ them in this way is extremely debatable.
Was Tim Pool Bald Shamed?
Pool experienced bald-shaming after the video was posted online and he was called various names and mocked for his baldness in the comment sections of various online platforms. This includes YouTube and several Reddit forums, where the video has been regularly reposted.
Pool is a divisive character online and knowing how freely people lash out on social media it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that he was bald-shamed.
However, the sheer volume of abuse and the relative lack of protection Pool received within these discussions is notable. While there were commenters who called out others for bald-shaming, these were in the minority:
Pool’s Twitter replies regularly mock his baldness. The Podcast host often interacts with these comments, sometimes with humor and sometimes more directly:
why are you so angry about this?
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) April 21, 2022
Pictures of Tim Pool Bald
The beanie-removal prank was the first known incident where Pool was caught on camera without his hat on any kind of public platform.
He has later posted pictures of himself without the hat where his baldness is clear to see. As Pool has always worn a beanie in public, he hasn’t bothered to shave the remaining hair on the sides of his head which accentuates the lack of hair on top:
Interviewing Daily Beast reporter Robert Silverman live on his breaking Tim Pool and Andy Ngo bombshell story (link in bio) pic.twitter.com/8BNBZP2xAo
— The Serfs (@theserfstv) November 24, 2021
Why is Tim Pool Bald?
Tim Pool has never officially given reasons for his baldness. There is speculation online that his hair loss is caused by alopecia, while others incorrectly suspect that friction from his beanie hat has led to premature hair loss, although this doesn’t generally cause baldness.
Pool has also Tweeted several sarcastic comments about his baldness but to date has not directly addressed the reason for his hair loss on Twitter:
I went to the hair doctor and they tried everything
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) April 21, 2022
truly one of my darkest days
in the end not even wigs and toupees would suffice
As I bowed my head and cried the doctor had an epiphany
THE BEANIE
Perhaps there was a way
I was saved, I found my salvation
Summary
Whatever your thoughts on Tim Pool’s political output, it’s important to remember that for many men, baldness can significantly impact mental health.
Bald-shaming might not be seen as the most harmful form of trolling, but neither Pool nor any other man should be mocked for any aspect of their physical appearance. Whether it’s unconvincing toupees or desperate comb-overs, there’s a reason men go to often ridiculous lengths to hide their hair loss.
Debate Pool on his political views by all means, but just as we rightly called out body-shaming and other forms of trolling, let’s leave the bald jokes behind us.
But is he happy?