November 11, 2009
Charles Barkley & Jay Leno talking about Sammy
This is beyond bizarre.
Sammy Sosa has gone Jacko and bleached his skin – lips included – and he’s sporting green contact lenses. He denied having any medical condition for the depigmentation (like vitiligo) and says he’s just rejuvenating his skin.
His coming out party was the Latin Grammys on November 4.
(Kevork Djansezian/Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
There’s something more off than his skin, lips and eyes. He looks like a woman.
Here is what he said to ESPN Deportes:
I’m not a racist. (?)
What happened was that I had been using the cream for a long time and that, combined with the bright TV lights, made my face look whiter than it really is. I don’t think I look like Michael Jackson. I’m going to market it, I’m a businessman.
To Univision:
I have a cream that I put on at night before I go to bed, and it lightens the skin on my face a bit. But this has caused such a controversy that even I am surprised.
He said he was trying to repair sun damage from years of playing baseball. Problem being bleaching his skin of melanin is putting him at greater risk of sun damage.
Dermatologist DR OMEED MEMAR (who just looked at the pix):
He’s subjecting himself to a potential carcinogen (hydroquinone). He’s setting himself up for skin cancer for the rest of his life, because of the loss of pigmentation.
I see a man who has changed at least six shades of color in his skin Here you’re seeing almost like lipstick color, so this is most likely a lip tattoo, a permanent tattoo. I would consider that not treatment going from black to lighter color, or de-pigmented white.
That’s almost mutilation.
1989 with Texas, 2004 with the Cubs, this week in Las Vegas. (AP/Tribune/Getty)
Updated:
Sammy joked about endorsing the product but now it seems he might just do so. His spokeswoman Rebecca Polihronis won’t name the product and isn’t sure where he got it but said Sammy is pleased with the results. Good thing because once the pigment is gone – it’s gone.
He has been traveling all over the world. He could have met somebody anywhere. He is an actual ambassador for the Dominican Republic. He has been working with them to bring new businesses and help the unemployment rate in the Dominican.
If he feels it is of good quality, it may be something he will be endorsing and marketing in the United States in the near future.
He has always been concerned with the way he looks. He is going through a rejuvenation process for his skin. Women have it all of the time. He was surprised he came out looking so white.
I thought it was a body double.
Part of (the photo appearance) is just the lighting. He said, ‘If you saw me in person, you would be surprised. When you see me in person, it is not going to seem like the picture.’
He can’t believe it is such a big deal. Probably just bad timing going to an awards show.
It’s not bad timing – it’s permanent.
And he looks so peculiar, why would the company want him endorsing it?
