A woman's boss told her to get rid of her pink hair, so she found the most ridiculous way to comply

For many, a workplace dress code is a minor annoyance. But for Emily Benschoter, a rule against "unnatural" hair color wasn't just an inconvenience—it was a direct challenge to her identity. Her response has since become a legendary tale of malicious compliance, turning a rigid corporate policy into a source of daily joy for her and the internet.

The conflict began when Benschoter, 29, landed a new front-of-house role in the hospitality industry. Speaking with Newsweek, she explained that since she was hired without a face-to-face interview, her new manager had no idea that she was, as she put it, a "self-expressive person" who felt most confident with her vibrant, dark-pink hair. Before her first shift, her manager informed her that the company had a strict policy: natural hair colors only.

Benschoter was faced with a classic dilemma: change a core part of her identity for a job, or walk away. She chose a third, far more brilliant option. "Dyeing my hair for a job I work at for 40 hours per week wasn't an option," she said. "I came up with a solution to keep the job and my hair."

That solution was wigs. But Benschoter had no intention of finding a subtle, natural-looking wig to blend in. If the company wanted to erase her personality, she was going to comply in the most ridiculous, over-the-top way possible. She began showing up to work each day in a different, gloriously bad wig. One day it was a cheap blonde bob, the next a spiky punk-rock mess, then a mullet, and so on. She was adhering to the "natural color" rule, but making a mockery of the spirit behind it.

Woman wearing obvious wigCanva

She started documenting her daily transformations on her TikTok, @emuhleeebee, where she quickly went viral. In one video, with the caption "When you have pink hair but corporate does not approve so you wear wigs," she poses expressively in a particularly unconvincing blonde number. Her hilarious protest resonated with thousands, who flooded her comments with support. "Please tell me that the second you clock out you’re holding the wig in your hand just so they know,” one user wrote.

Her followers became so invested that they asked for a wishlist to buy her even more absurd wigs. Soon, she had requests for a "founding father" wig, a bald cap, and other hilarious options. She happily obliged, turning the whole situation into a collaborative performance. "I prefer my pink hair, it's me to my core," Benschoter told Newsweek. "So now I purposely pick wacky wigs which are quite funny."

Woman with a wacky wig at workCanva

Follow @emuhleeebee on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

This article originally appeared last year.