Mikey Madison’s gloves in The Social Reckoning are part of the film’s portrayal of Frances Haugen, the real-life Facebook whistleblower played by the actor. Haugen is also shown wearing leg warmers, with both details linked to a medical condition affecting her body temperature.
The film explains that Haugen has a severe form of coeliac disease which causes neuropathy, or nerve damage. This can alter how her body processes temperature, leaving her feeling unusually hot or cold in her hands, wrists, feet and legs.
The condition provides the reason for the character’s distinctive clothing throughout the film. It also features in a storyline set during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Haugen moves to Puerto Rico to work in a warmer climate.
In one scene, after Facebook orders her to return home, Haugen is shown sweating in her apartment because the room has to be kept at a high temperature.
The film’s writer-director, Aaron Sorkin, did not want Madison to alter her appearance to resemble Haugen. Instead, he asked her to build the character from his script while drawing on Haugen’s experiences.
Madison told Time: “When I got the script, I knew about the Facebook Files, but I didn’t know Frances’ name. So I looked her up, and I was like, ‘She’s blonde and has blue eyes. Why does Aaron want me for this?’ And he said, ‘I want you to try and build the character from my script.’”
She added: “But of course I read her memoir and tried to do my due diligence because there was so much I didn’t understand. I don’t have a personal relationship with social media at all.”
Estimates cited in the film’s explanation suggest that about 10% of people with coeliac disease may experience neurological problems such as peripheral neuropathy or ataxia.
