Regardless of many individuals’s shared reminiscences on the contrary, TV health teacher Richard Simmons did not put on a scarf whereas understanding.
The widespread perception that well being and wellness icon Richard Simmons — who died in July 2024 at age 76 — wore a scarf throughout his memorable high-energy exercises on TV has lengthy endured, even going viral on social media.
For example, on Reddit (archived), TikTok (archived) and Instagram (archived), posters have prodded their followers for explanations of the apparently lacking headband that seems of their collective reminiscence. One account on TikTok even bragged of cracking the code of the false recollection:
There isn’t a verified photographic proof that Simmons ever wore a scarf whereas exercising. Its absence has even led to the assertion that folks’s reminiscence of it’s an instance of the “Mandela effect,” a phenomenon through which a big group of individuals share a false reminiscence of a previous occasion or object.
For many years, Simmons was the face of at-home health, recognized for his flamboyant model and colourful exercise apparel. He usually wore brilliant tank tops, sparkly brief shorts and crew socks, displaying an lively and kindly aura that captivated crowds and motivated hundreds of thousands. Nevertheless, whereas many individuals recall Simmons sporting a sweatband or headband together with his acquainted ‘matches and frizzy bouffant, he by no means made this accent part of his signature exercise wardrobe. The idea that he did might have arisen from popular culture parodies, although even among the finest recognized of these, Eddie Murphy’s character Lance Perkins in “The Nutty Professor,” additionally eschewed a scarf.
An exhaustive search by way of a number of picture archives, together with Getty Images, Alamy Stock Photos and Google Image Search, turned up no pictures of Simmons sporting a scarf whereas understanding. His colourful look generally featured costume wigs, enjoyable glasses and sometimes even a swimming cap — however no headband.
Richard Simmons, sporting a swimming cap, attended a profit for Hurricane Sandy in New York in 2013. (Getty Pictures)
Even on Simmons’ devoted YouTube channel, The Weight Saint, his official Facebook web page and official website, there are not any images or movies displaying him sporting a scarf in his exercise routines (although, paradoxically, there are photos of fans dressed up as Simmons sporting a scarf on his social media).
Simmons’ publicist, Tom Estey, who represented him for greater than 30 years, confirmed this element to Snopes through electronic mail. “Because the publicist (and buddy) to Richard Simmons for 30 plus years, I can let you know with one hundred pc certainty that he didn’t put on a scarf,” he stated. “I hope this helps.”
Why the Headband Fable Persists
The false perception that Simmons wore a scarf matches neatly throughout the Mandela effect paradigm, whereby teams of individuals recall issues in a different way from the precise info. Named after widespread however incorrect reminiscences that anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela‘s demise occurred within the Nineteen Eighties (he truly died in 2013), the Mandela impact has lengthy intrigued psychologists and most of the people. The recollection of Simmons in a scarf might stem from the affect of parodies or fan costumes, in addition to the affiliation of headbands with Nineteen Eighties health tradition.
People journal, which lined Simmons numerous instances all through his years within the public eye, inadvertently contributed to this false perception in a 2017 article in regards to the opening of “Dancing with the Stars” performer Kym Herjavec‘s health studio. The piece referenced Simmons’ former studio on the similar Beverly Hills location and joked that contributors may come “dressed up like Richard Simmons briefly shorts and headbands.” This passing point out by Herjavec gave the impression to be the one reference to Simmons’ headband by the leisure outlet.
Along with the clear lack of proof of Simmons sporting a scarf, our analysis discovered that followers who dressed as Simmons have usually included headbands of their costumes, including to the confusion. Equally, different aerobics instructors and fitness icons from the identical period ceaselessly wore headbands, together with curly-haired tennis champion John McEnroe, which can have cemented the thought in collective reminiscence.
Even in parodies like Murphy’s Lance Perkins character, the headscarf is absent — a noteworthy truth, contemplating the character’s purpose was to resemble Simmons. Regardless of the lasting impression that Simmons wore a scarf, this piece of apparel was by no means a part of his precise wardrobe.
Snopes has beforehand fact-checked different situations of the Mandela impact, together with that the Monopoly man has never worn a monocle and whether or not Fruit of the Loom’s logo as soon as contained a cornucopia.
