Former Major League Baseball player Sammy Sosa might be pulling a Michael Jackson and intentionally lightening his skin. The photograph above shows Sosa at a red carpet event in October of 2003 on the left, and at a similar red carpet event on November 4th of this year on the right.
At first, Sosa denied that he was lightening his skin, and blamed the paleness on both the photographer’s bright flash bulbs and a cream he was using for a “skin condition.” Now, he’s admitted that he uses a cream to “soften his skin” that also just happens to also make it lighter.
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.”
“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.
And you know, who hasn’t used a moisturizer that also made their face several shades whiter? Sosa refuses to give the name of the skin scream, but I think we can all believe that he’s telling the truth. It’s not as if he has a history of telling big old fat lies, white or otherwise.
I’ve got some pics of Sosa in the gallery below that range in age from 1999 to present and it looks like the before & after chart on a box of Crest White strips.
His face looks so blotchy now. Mess.
that “moisturizer” is called ultraquin.
This news is about a week old and has been all over the networks. Jon and Kate are getting divorced, too!
Seriously, it’s kinda sad how late this site is on this stuff.
He only appeared on the talk show on Tuesday, and I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IT. Plus, the other gals don’t really write about sports, so it didn’t get written up.
I’m fucking proud that I didn’t write a single article about Jon & Kate Gosselin this weekend, so you hush now.
your still the shittiest writer on this blog and a bitch with it
I love you.
Yep. I get to write seven a day and Sammy didn’t make the cut. Like my sports reference? :-)
I love you Kelly and I think you’re a translator which makes me love you even more because I’m one!
Kelly, you’re totally magnificently awesome! Loved this story, am so glad you wrote about this and am going to comment right now.
And…damn I like that avatar.
Seriously, it’s kinda sad how late this site is on everything.
He’s so much cuter in the “before”! And this is the only gossip site I have time to read so it’s fine with me if it’s a week old ;-)
Ditto.
If his skin gets any lighter,he’ll forget how to dance and his dick will shrink.
yikes Sammy Sosa turned into Sammy Cullen
Self-hatred is such a sad thing.
Maybe he should get a vagina and start dating that Bono creature.
“skin scream” in the second to last paragraph..seems a little bit off…
Just a skin softener…sure thing.
Just like in 1997 Sosa weighed like 160 lbs and the very next year he had put on like 40-50 lbs of muscle and was battling for the home run record w/ fellow “truth teller and play-by-rules” McGwire.
The skin whitener is simply to soften his skin?
What is the purpose of light-colored contacts and relaxing your kinky hair and no longer being seen w/ an afro?
To each his own, hope he feels better now but just weird.
This is the first I’ve seen of this, Kelly, so thanks!
And I agree, he looks bad now. Weird. Much like Michael Jackson did in the in-between stage. I don’t believe that the skin cream is just to soften his skin, either. There are a million products that can do that.
It’s funny how white people all over the world attempt to darken their skin and that’s OK for them but a dark person wanting to lighten their skin is bad.
In much of East Asia white skin is seen as beautiful and dark as ugly. Whitening creams are sold in every store with beauty products and commercials are everywhere. People go to high end beauty clinics for whitening treatments. Perfectly normal. (Not surprisingly, it is the women who use these products the most)
Not sure what the deal is in the Americas south of the US but it seems most of their beauty queens are of European (white skin) background. So maybe the same thing goes on there as in East Asia.
Any way, he looks pretty bad and is reminding me of the plastic surgery cat face lady.
White people with orange tans look equally retarded. Why can’t people just be happy with what they’ve got? Someone should post a pic of Michael Jackson at his creepiest on his bathroom mirror.
“Internalized oppression”. Yup. That is what I believe this is called, and its heartbreaking.
Also, to ‘Ha’ and ‘Blah Blah’, you are also heartbreaking. Where’s the jokes? If you are going to be smarmy and nasty and malicious, at least pull out some humor. Sam’s got it right: smother gremlin-heartedness with with love. So, ‘Ha’ and ‘Blah Blah’ I love you ***sooo*** much. Mmm. Feel that? It was a trillion ones and zeros melting your ice queen hearts.
Are you psychotic?
Hi Dan the Man :)
It is true that lighter skin is revered as more beautiful the world over but many argue this is a result of colonialization, and thus an internalization of symbols of power possessed by the colonializers (white skin, straight hair, lidded eyes, hair-free skin).
It is worth considering why we see one thing as beautiful and not another, which you do in your post. I would argue however that white people darkening their skin are tanning, which has a history of meaning associated with wealth.
Those with pale skin were the wealthy initially, as it showed they did not have to toil in the fields. Then, with industrialization, many who spent their entire day in factories or mining became very pale and those who didn’t have to work could spend time enjoying the sun.
Today tanning is pretty much associated with money to spend on tanning booths, or reminiscent of a California lifestyle that allows for lots of relaxation time.
Far more insight/opinion than this story is worth. Just drop it.
Well, sticking with East Asia, at least one of the places I’m talking about, where this goes on the most, Thailand, was never fully colonized by a Western power. And although Asians want white skin, they really want it a color of white that you don’t find in caucasians, especially the ones who had been on ships for months before they ever got to Asia.
Hair free skin? Asians tend to be much less hairy than Westerners but most don’t want that physical feature of Westerners. Many Asians consider Westerners hairy beasts. There are A LOT of features of Westerners that Asians find unattractive and don’t want.
BTW, we’re getting away from my most important point, the fact that white people see it as OK to tan, use creams, use machines, etc. to get darker but when dark people use the same methods to get lighter, they are ridiculed by who? White people.
Well said, however – your point falls on deaf ears/blind eyes.
JESUS H CHRIST enough with the evil white man shit already. If you hate yourself don’t blame us!
white man created the conditions, live with it you evil cock sucker.haaaaaa
Well, based on Michelle Obama being a great great granddaughter of a white slave owner, I’m sure Sammy already had some of that powerful white blood in him anyways!
This is old as hell. If it’s more than two days old, don’t post it.
WWTDD knows what’s up.
He looks creeeeepy now. The contact lenses look so fake, and with how light his skin is compared to his lips, it just looks horrible.
He seems to have also had some serious plastic surgery.
This is the first I’ve seen this article, so thanks again, Kelly!
You know that there are a few of us rooting for you :)
People busting on Kelly gets on my f****in nerves… Pisses me off when they mess with Wendie, Molls, and Sasha too.
Perhaps he was naturally a lighter complected guy and years playing baseball in the sun reaked havoc on his skin so he is trying to correct the sun damage? I have a hard time believing he is trying be “whiter”.
Le sigh
The cream he’s using is most likely Hydroquinone or something very similar, or a generic by the same name. It’s a very common skin whitening ingredient, and can cause irritation, itching, redness, and blistering. So using this cream as a “skin softener,” um, not going to happen.
If he wanted soft skin he could have used any number of face creams with silicone in them…
Hi Dan :)
I wasn’t speaking to East Asia particularly but thank you for the insight into that region of the world. I think I’ve seen images of the ‘whiter than white’ idealized skin color you’re talking about. It reminds of the make-up of geisha, though I know they are Japanese, rather than Thai. However, perhaps the whitening in that case is related again to wealth and cultural status. Also, eye surgeries and pastes to create lids are common in Asia, as far as I know, so that would apply a Western ‘ideal’. As far as hair removal goes, I was speaking more to Indian women, however hair removal could be a whole other discussion. I’m sure there are many features of Westerners that Asians find unattractive as you say, just as Western women seem to idealize tall, broad-shouldered men. Some physical preferences are definitely culturally specific. However, skin colour is kind of hot-button because it is so indicative of ‘race’ (though ‘race’ doesn’t actually exist).
In terms of white people tanning, as silly as it may be to use machines and creams it is still mimicing a natural process — being outside in the sun. Plastic surgery to create lids and using creams to lighten your skin are trying to create an ‘unnatural’ effect.
While I don’t agree with the power and priveledge that comes with being Western, white, born into a developed nation, and an English-speaker, it is the unfortunate legacy of Western colonializing power’s spread throughout the globe. As long as these are the visual symbols of power, people will seek to create them in themselves. Ridiculing someone like Michael Jackson for these things is sad, particularly when his pain is so obviously written on his body.
Thanks for the discussion in an unexpected place! :)
I suspect Sammy is doing something more than using a little cream at night. Even his hands match the color of his face. Which is no small feat.
I am now very curious if he is evenly, the same color, all over.
But if he wants to do this, more power to him. It was just so jarring to see such a drastic change in his appearance.
Are you asking if his Penis is white?
I could care less about the man’s penis.
My curiosity is, if his face and neck blend evenly into his chest area. From his neck down his arms. It is not a easy feat to have a “little cream at night” perfectly lighten the skin. Evenly.
And he seems to be pretty evenly lighten.
But will he be able to go out to the pool without a shirt on and no one notice any serious splotching.
This is what I am curious about. Not the color of his penis.
admit it hautie. you’re dying to know about his penis you nasty little thing you.
I totally support this. People should be free to become who they want to be. If he wants to lighten his skin, then that’s completely his choice, just like people choose to dye their hair or cut it a certain way, or tweeze their eyebrows in whatever shape they want. People get boob jobs, have various surgeries, whatever and I think as long as they’re doing it with a sane head on their shoulders and are confident that this is what they want and it doesn’t cause harm, then more power to them. Him doing this, in my opinion, is 1000x better than a black person resenting his dark skin color his entire life but not haveing the courage to do anything about it because he’s too scared (and/or afraid of what others are going to think and say about him).
That is IF he is doing it intentionally.
I agree,I’m seriously thinking of a penile reduction. Its just to large!
He looked much better before. He looks terrible now. Case closed.
Believe it or not, its not the same person. Look at the pics carefully and ull see that the ears are different, eyes color and upper lip, also the size of the head. Look once, 2 wice, as many as u want and tell me its the same man. But of course u live in the La La Land and according to u this thing isnt possible.
Hi Crazy,
Eye color is different because of contacts.
These two aren’t the only pics out there – he has made several recent public appearances including television interviews (univision) talking specifically about the changes to his appearance.
Perhaps the whole world is in on your conspiracy theory though.
However, your post gave me a giggle in my hours of insomnia.
P.S. Elvis and MJ give you a shout out from their secret hiding place.
LMAO.
His life, his body, his business.
La La Land, I was sure ud come up with an “explanation” like that. Suddenly the man decides to wear blue contact lenses. Wow, much logic in all u say. As I said I dont expect any sheeple to believe me, but the truth remains the truth, regardless of ur rantings. SAMMY SOSA isnt SAMMY SOSA at all. Period.
Anyone notice his hair is being relaxed, too? I’m just sayin…
maybe its that he got older and fatter but he looked A LOT better in the before picture.
i think hes wasting his time if hes trying to improve his apperance.
Sammy bought the MJ pedophile rights from the Jackson estate. Just a few more shades to go then he’ll be sucking kiddy cock and passing out wine coolers in a town near you.