Sammy Sosa has elaborated on the products he’s used that have caused his skin to lighten to drastically.
The former slugger admits that he used a skin bleaching cream, a fact he initially denied.
Sosa appeared on a Univision program and shed light on his lightened skin:
“I’m doing well, doing well, thanks to God. A little surprised by the tsunami of attention,” Sosa said in a Spanish interview with Univision reporter Tony Dandrades Tuesday. “”It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some.”
Sosa raised eyebrows when he was photographed at the latin Grammy’s
“I use a cream to keep my skin smooth and soft. I apply it before I go to bed. When I was playing for Chicago all those years, I was in the sun a lot for 1 o’clock games,” Sosa initially said. “The flashes (from the cameras) also made my skin look lighter. I’m surprised with the controversy this has caused.”
Sosa, who also wears colored contacts, said he uses the cream as a moisturizer and is in discussions to market it.
Sammy Sosa Admits He Bleached His Skin White
Who cares.. let him do whatever he wants leave him alone..
My God! As a Black man myself I can barely try to fathom what the heck is on his mind. Seems like he’s become “detached” from his own race and culture. Funny thing is he’s still a niggah and will always be viewd that way by white Americans. And no he’ll suffer the wrath of his own countrymen!
The nigga looks funny as hell! (just like MJ)
I feel for the children,cuz I’d be SCARED AS HELL OF HIM! Don’t the nigga LOOKS JUST LIKE A CLOWN/and A FOOL! Take a serious look at yourself you don’t even look APPEALING at all.
Unfortunately, in the public eye, there’s little privacy. He’s not committing a crime, not cheating on his wife, and hopefully not going broke…so they have to find something to be negative about in his regard.
Doesn’t it show, though, how meaningless color is as it is so easy to change? That’s a good thing, no?
I think it worse that obviously ignorant persons are referring to Sosa as “niggah” or “nigga.” I hope that those doing so are simply racist white trash posing as black people and not actually blacks. If the latter, I state that you have a equal or bigger problem than Sosa as that is the only way you see yourselves. Both minds have been bamboozled!
That “Nigga” (BTW referring to anyone as “Nigga” makes you look/sound like a low-class moron) IS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC! To quote our first moronic posting “As a black man myself…” are you freaking kidding me, HAVE YOU EVER HEARD HIM SPEAK? Obviously not if you are referring to him as a “Brother” In conclusion, more like Ricky Ricardo less like Richard Pryor. Got it? I figured I would put it in a racist comparison so the people posting on this blog would be able to understand it.
i think the shit is fukkin retarded honestly y would u want to go white its not like he needs the attention he still fukkin wit roids to0 like wtf are the thoughts goin through his mind u couldnt pay me enough
Um. Do any of you know that Sammy Sosa is not black. But then again, people who use the “N” word usually don’t differentiate…He can do whatever he wants with his skin. He may have issues but at least he displays his intolerance. Others just kill, humiliate and fight to make people conform.
and to big mike up above screw u the white race has always thought one way about people if your not white your black so ina way we just keepin it 100 when we say hes a nigga cuz he iss n it aint gon change just cuz he look like mj’z dumbass doesnt mean a thing yea he from dr soo hes still HAD color to his skin hes black
well, he does look a lot better. the Dominican and African in his blood didn’t create the best skin tone, plus the excessive sun damage didn’t help.
Its sad ppl jus arent satisfied with wat god have given them and also this brainwashed mentality us minorities have that the european look is the only form of “beauty” i think its a form of self hatred passed down
jus wish we knew our individualities as dif ppl races n cultures is wat makes u beautiful
DUH…Sammy Sosa IS black. He just happens to be Afro-Latino, a person of African descent born and raised in the Dominican Republic (or Puerto Rico, South America or any other latin culture) just like African Americans born and raised in America are of African descent. Just because your from another country/culture does not erase your blackness, there are black people (African ancestry) all over the world, not just the U.S. Get educated.
Why he did this to himself… just another whacked out individual doing his thing. It’s no different from white people risking melanoma frying themselves in the sun/tanning booths, looking like carrots and clogging their pores with creams and sprays in an attempt to look black (or at the least NOT white). You can use normal skin conditioners to get smooth skin so that excuse is BS, for whatever reason he WANTS to look European. Why is beyond any black person’s reasoning so he must have an MJ complex. Bottom line…just some more weird celebrity s**t, move on, there’s more to life.
Dominicans do not consider themselves black. Afro-Dominicans call themselves “dark Indian” or “light Indian,” to differentiate from the hated Haitians, who they call black. Dominicans gained their independence from Haiti after Christophe invaded their country and took back to Haiti 20,000 Dominicans as slaves to build his Citadel Castle, along with 12,000 teenage Dominican girls as concubines.
I cannot believe this ignorance that I’m hearing. Calling this man the N word. Regardless if you mean it as him being a black man(which he is NOT) or him just being an ignorant person; it is totally uncalled for and is nonsense! Yes no matter what color he changes his skin to he will always be DOMINICAN just like MJ was still African American. So what! As long as he doesn’t start saying that his race is now something that it’s truly not, who cares! Keep walking in your own shoes just as he walks in his.
Using the “N” word shows your stuck in ignorance. Sammy has the right without the haters permission.
As a Dominican who spent some time in the D.R., I can say for a fact that there is a distinction between Black and White amongst Latinos.
Sammy, with all that you’ve accomplished, you’re still haunted by not being accepted or being made fun of because you HAD more color to your skin than maybe others you went to school with or something? MJ was haunted by his Father calling him ugly…so he “whitened” and became scary looking, now you do too! Dark Skin is really beautiful! Tanned White Men are Beautiful…But Bleached Men are Scary! OMG! Fix it back!!!!!Go Back to being your regular skin color! Who would buy that “Cream”? You’re going to Market it?!! LOL!!!LOL!!!LOL!!! Yeah for Halloween events!
Omg!!!!!people are so ignorant,what’s to you if he’s black or white?let the man live in peace!he’s a good person and for whatever reason he’s turning white who are we to judge him!
He is Black meaning of African descent. He is not African-American. He is Afro-Caribbean/Afro-Latino. Where were you educated that you can’t figure out that difference?
Look up “Afro-Latino” on Wikipedia or some other source…and then get back to us…with a retraction.
Nice try. You are anything but Christian. And to the rest of you: you’re race baiting idiots.
Many years later and we still use the word nigga to refer to black people. Whether you are white, black Asian or indian. It is still a derogatory word. As for Sosa lighten his skin if he is ashamed of his black skin or simply doesn’t care just goes to show that there is still a black identity crisis in the world.
Mr. Sosa has the right to do to himself as he pleases, and for heaven sake leave MJ. to reat in peace he has been in the spot light enough already. This is no different then some “stars” choosing to be fat, pregnant, too skinny you name it.Don’t remove the speck from anothers eye, until you remove the PLANK from your own.
Ok! First off; the term ‘black’ refers to a COLOR. And Sosa is/was black at one time (just like MJ). His ethnicity is Dominican. Second; there is a wide spectrum of hues and colors among a vast variety of nationalites.
For whatever reason he wanted to bleach his skin, that is between him and his conscience. To refer to Mr Sosa as a N*gga just shows where the poster’s head is at.
C’mon people! Enough is enough.
Sammy take that powder off you’re ridiculous and are most definitely misrepresenting Dominicans. You have become a disgrace. Although some may say that this is not my concern I’m at liberty to freely express and share my input on the matter. We should love ourselves for who we are and embrace our race and skin color proudly. What was his motive? Even if there is one it doesn’t justify his absurdity.
Okay, Sosa is Dominican of African decent so it’s wrong to call him “black” implying he’s AMERICAN of African decent. But anyways I’m half Dominican and Black and to me it’s so DISGUSTING what he did to himself. Fucking horrible.
Alphonso and JD bring up valid, historical points, which are true.
All across the world Africans have experienced low self esteem trying to fit into the main stream European standards.
Even with money MJ, Sammy and others are exemplifying this low self esteem… If your moma and daddy didn’t tell you how important it is to be proud of who you are, then one grows up all twisted and mislead no matter how well they do financially. It is sad but it is what it is! I am lucky that I don’t suffer from this problem, but I know many that do
I am just surprised tiger Wood Never did it.
Go figure
David, I guess you can speak for “white Americans”
as a black man? I’m white and a baseball fan and I don’t view him as anything other than Sammy Sosa. It sounds like you’re the one with the race issues.
This is a response to FOOLS.
Christian,Muslim, Jewish,Hindu etc. All are the same.
Whether the commentors are of a certain religion means absolutely nothing. In my humble opinion, and history backs me up, Religion\faith whatever you want to call it is used to control minds, and believe me it fucking works!
Let’s get our facts straight before we judge. What Sammy said was that through the years he has been exposed to alot of sun without protection. since he has not been playing he has tried to reverse some of that damagae by taking care of his skin and apparently the cream he is using has lightened his complexion. This is Dermatologist proven. I am sure he is proud to be a black dominican and is not trying to become white. so hater’s let them man be!
This is so pointless. Millions of white people go to tanning beds on a daily basis to change the pigmentation of their skin to be darker. Yet a darker person bleaches his skin to be lighter and it’s so controversial??? Please! Obviously racism is still alive and well here in the United States. The man isn’t doing anything different than anybody else, he simply paid money to change his appearance (i.e. make-up, TANNING, plastic surgery, etc.), but because he’s a wealthy minority it’s a big f’ing crime. Next time I see someone coming out of a tanning bed, I’m going to call them fake, tell them they’re shaming their “people”, and report it to the news since it’s such a big m’f'ing deal!! Morons!
To Bunch or Morons:
I can see your point, but it is a big deal. in case you fail to realize this, tanning is reversible, stop going and you are white again. Aint no return for Sammy, which is what he wants. Tanning is trendy, people that Tan, don’t seek out to fit into black communities, therefore Sammy’s situation is different than Tanning. Just recognize that racism never died in America so stop saying “racism is still alive”.
The injustices physically,social and psychological destruction that racism caused is not just going to disappear just because the dog can now eat in the same restaurant.
With all the hate and crimes going on in the world you would think people would be more concerned with changing that than worrying about some BS like this. Haven’t you watched the news lately! The world is going to hell in a hand basket. How about thinking of ways to make it a better place for our kids.
Cancer isn’t completely irreversible either….. lol. But to this person’s point, ya don’t see the news blabbing about how a caucasion celebrity gets a nose job or bleaches their hair blonde. The changes happen because people in general can’t accept who they are and pay money to change themselves to what they think is “acceptable”… I think that person was pointing out the racism in the media of how much attention this is getting when many other “white” celebrities permanently change their appearances. I mean, people are STILL talking about Michael Jackson who has passed away. Makes one wonder what his crime was? Being black with lots of money =0
No matter what the nationality or race, people should really learn to speak and type correctly. It is hard to take anyone seriously that calls people niggas and using abbreviations that are used for texting, like WTF. Instead of blaming everyone else for your problems, maybe you should get an education.
To jrock:
Sammy changed his skin to fit into white communities? How do u know this?
Some people are referring to Sammy Sosa as an African American, he’s actually Dominican of African decent. I watched him play baseball for many years, he was so attractive, he now looks ridiculous.
I’m a Dominicano, and, unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot of obviously (as opposed to the no so obvious, i.e., A-Rod) Black Dominicans deny their African heritage: they claim to be “Indio” (Indian), more a reference to color, instead of using the term Black, even though they do have a designation for “Blanco” (White), which someone like A-Rod would be classified under. It’s the colonial mentality and the idealization of White standards of beauty that cause this mentality to prevail. I think this is why Sosa is doing this. BTW, if he simply stops the cream, his natural skin tone will come back.
Who really cares? He’s a grown man responsible for noone but himself. Being dark myself, I don’t understand but that is hardly my concern; he has own reasons. I think no less of him and really don’t even know why this is an issue. People, stop calling others the N word regardless of the difference in spelling. It’s stupid. By the way, any previous posts that commented on Dominican heritage: would you consider Patrick Ewing black? or Felipe Lopez? Both from the Republic.
@toeachhisown:
Patrick Ewing IS BLACK. He is NOT Dominican. He is JAMAICAN (though Jamaicans have their own colonial color issues).
Felipe Lopez the basketball player? Race: Black Ethnicity: Dominican.
Black does not only equal African American. Black means not White. hell, depending where you live in the world, it doesn’t even necessarily mean African. Aboriginal People in Australia are considered Black. Dark Indians were considered Black by the British. I am sure their are other ethnicities that use this term for their darker populations, I just can’t think of anybody else at the moment….Maoris in New Zealand! The White people called them Black as well…
Nothing wrong being Black. Nothing wrong being Dark. Pathetic that Sosa and so many other Domincians hold on to a ridiculous ideal set forth by a tyranical dictator that hated and tried to cover up his own Haitian heritage…
Simply put, he was a great looking dark skinned guy. Now he is an odd looking light skinned guy.
Pasty faced, leprosied out whites have dominated dark-skinned races worldwide and they’ve done it because the darker races really ARE stupid and weak-minded. Just look at the rabble that’s being posted around the color of one’s skin color. It’s irrelevant. Your inherent character, disposition and personality, temperament are what are in question. You darkies are all emotional, irrational, weak-minded and incapable of self-governing because all of adjectives above add up to Stupid, basically. You’ll never get it. Travel and learn about the world. You’re incompetent little black-assed performers. Your job in the world is to entertain the elite…whether black, yellow or white. Color doesn’t matter when you’re intelligent and assimilable. Most of you darkies aren’t. Condoleezza Rice is firstly Intelligent…race/color is important only to dug-in, committed idiots. Geez.
Ignorance is alive and well. Eloise the darker races are not as stupid and ignorant as you seem to think. If every race marched onto other people’s lands, slaughtered the people, raped and pillaged, and stole their wealth, and set themselves up as conquerors who would be left to squabble over which group is superior? People with pale skin have done that that; it was fashionable then. Today their descendents have transferred their bloodthirsty guilt to the people whose ancestors they raped and killed. There is no race more bloodthirsty as the pale one. If that is bravery, or civilized, NOT STUPID, then more power to you. The fact that some peole with dark skin want to escape the realities of their skin color so they could live more comfortably in a world where skin color is power shouldn’t anger you. What’s the problem, are you scared that you might discover when the color goes away you actually like the human being underneath; that you might discover you’ve been irrational all this time? Here’s one for you: How many black people with white skin do you know? Perhaps you are one. Genetics could be so tricky!
i have read these post about sammy sosa and his skin color that is a priority for you then it shows you have a very shallow life wake up and smell the coffee
I’ve learned a lot about color here. I hope I never refer to anyone improperly in that regard. I thought we had moved beyond a lot of this racial/color crap. I have been around all colors of people and I don’t care. I’ve had a clerk, nurse, you name it, help me and can tell you if they were polite, had a sense of humor, etc, but not what color they were. If Sosa wants to bleach his skin, I don’t care. Wow, he wears colored contacts! That is not worth mentioning! Millions wear them for different reasons, some have a whole array of colors. People get their glasses tinted – what’s the difference? The article wouldn’t say anything about Sosa’s eyes if he did that. Frankly, I’d rather talk to a person with the colored contacts than someone who has glasses tinted so that I cannot see their eyes well, or the people who can’t take off their sun glasses, for the same reason. I might be interested in a cream that I could put on at night to lose the a little over my stomach, where my body puts every extra pound, that is safe and affordable. Bet a lot of women would!
My paternal grandparents came from Italy and my mother’s from around what is now Croacia. I got my father’s almost black hair, Italian nose, flexibility and bad heart and mother’s frame and pale, pale skin and can definitely pin my high blood pressure on her(and she raises mine every time we talk). Such pale skin and dark hair isn’t seen often. Maybe I should think up a new name for it but don’t care enough about labels.
So, I consider myself a caucasian female of Italian descent because I look more Italian. I’m fine with that. Wouldn’t have a nose job. I will admit that at 55 I have a little, very little gray hair that I cover (cover, not change color). That and a nice tan in the summer are all I want to do with the coloring I was born with. What other people want to do is their business.
First of all….very well said Mary Pilcher. I believe that this is news to many of us because it is so sad. This man chose to alter his God-given appearance/ethnicity for some reason – only he knows the real reason. As a dark-skinned Black/African-American, growing up in the 60’s, I was the darkest person in my entire family, including my extremely large extended family. My great-grandmother and several great aunts could easily have passed for white. I took after my dark skinned father. My entire family went out of their way make sure they instilled in me a sense of pride & confidence. They made sure that I knew I was just as beautiful, just as smart, and just as special as anyone else. They never made it about race but looking back they were giving me the tools to thrive in a very racially divided South. Not everyone gets that kind of love and pride from their family, friends, or the world as a whole. I believe that Sammy & MJ thought that it was just easier to change their outward appearance than to be accepted for who they are/were. Darker skin brings out fear, loath, and disgust in some people and “so-called” societal norms continue to foster the thinking that “white/whiter” is better. Beauty comes in a shades. Black/African American in not one color. Our race is comprised on many, many nationalities. To look at me you would not see my African, Anglo, Asian ancestry but it is all here in me. I see my very mixed heritage/ancestry in my son who’s eyes are very different from mine. And I would guess that I will continue to see it unfold in the next generation. We are all beautiful and made in His image.
I have never had the displeasure of encountering such a vast amount of ignorance in one place. Dominican is not, I repeat, is NOT an ETHNICITY! IT IS A NATIONALITY! Where an individual is born and/or the language that one speaks does not equate to racial heritage! I am far more disturbed by the obvious degradation of our educational system and intellect in general than I am by Sosa’s bleaching of his skin! American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban….this indicates your nationality (where you were born or have become a naturalized citizen). It is not indicative of ethnicity or racial heritage.
cono,ese tipo esta loco en la cabeza, nos hece lucir a todo los Dominicanos como basura. Deberian de majarle los testiculos por ser tan estupido. Tiene dinero, tiene una familia, tiene un merito conseguido a fuerza de trabajo, hasta cierto punto representa la patria en Baseball, pero no deja de ser estupido y mediocre. creo que es un insulto al patrimonio de la raza Dominicana. Esas acciones confirman que el mono es mono aunque se vista de seda porq haci se queda. Lo mas grande quiere que se lo celebren y aplaudan. Solo le falta cantar y bailar para cojer el puesto de Michael Jacson. Sosa es monkey see monkey do. Ese baboso que explicacion dio de su mediosincracia o poco cerebro. Su attitud es humillante y vergonzosa para todo dominicano fuera y dentro de la republica.
Sorry Sandy……It is Sandy Pilcher not Mary
It makes me laugh when people want to dictate what a person can and cannot do. Leave him alone! He, in 2009, is allowed to do whatever he wants and as long as it doesn’t impact negatively on others. I have no problem with it. I once set in a circle on a cricket pitch after a game with guys from Pakistan, India, South Africa, Barbados, England, Canada and the U.S. and we all came to the realization that our hopes, dreams, desires and aspirations were all the same..no matter our skin colour, religion or ethnicity.
Rodney King said it best, “Can’t we all just get along!”. It is so disappointing to hear bloggers use such disparaging comments about a man who has given his all in a sport that puts a man such as Sammy under a microscope and places him in an environment where he has to act a certain way and iis critiqued on every move that he makes. How many of us have to live our lives under such a microscope?
For the record, I am a dark-skinned Black man from Bermuda and think that we should live…and let live!!
I wonder if his dark skin was caused by sun damage, has anyone seen a picture of him as a child? I think there are other creams or laser techniques that will help repair sun damage. I think he is just using that as an excuse. His light contacts, in combination with his light skin, make him almost look like an albino man of african descent. There is a documentary that covers why these albino “blacks” are in high demand and have to live together for safety (not a good story, some weird belief that the bones of an albino black person will cure cancer or something like that). Anyway, the way he looks now reminds me of those people.
I just wish people would not feel the need to change their natural looks in any way. Historically this theme of lighter skin being better, even in all-white and all-dark communities, existed and one would hope that in this modern age we would have grown past this idiotic misperception!!