The cream takes many years to take effect.
By Molly Given — Written on Jun 27, 2018
Did Sammy Sosa bleach his skin? Sports star Sammy Sosa has been known for his physical abilities and his stellar record in baseball. However, lately, he has been making headlines again for his look — and not anything to do with style.
There have been a few stars who have come under fire for bleaching their skin and Sosa is now joining those ranks.
Here's what we know about his skin bleaching:
1. He revealed he was using bleaching cream in 2009.
“It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and it whitens my skin some,” he said at the time. “It’s a cream that I have that I use to soften [my skin], but has bleached me some.”
2. People reacted very strongly.
Sammy Sosa looking like chewed up bubble gum!!!” one viewer wrote on Twitter. Another made a similar joke, writing, “Why’s Sammy Sosa looking like a pack of Big League Chew?” Some people didn't even recognize him saying, “No way that’s Sammy Sosa!” and, “What happened to Sammy Sosa?”
3. Sosa is not giving any ammo to haters.
The ex-Chicago Cubs player has no time for the hate he's received and he defends his choices. "Look at what I am today,” Sosa said while speaking to Sports Illustrated. “This is my life and I don’t take garbage from nobody. I do whatever I want.”
4. His son also defended him.
Sammy Sosa Jr. came to his dad's defense. "It doesn’t affect him, but I’m sure he feels a certain way,” Junior told Sports Illustrated. “Like, ‘Man, I gave so many years and so much hard work for you guys, and now you want to undermine all that because of some decisions I’m making — some personal decisions that don’t affect you at all?"
5. Sammy Sr. says he doesn't care what anyone thinks.
“I'm not a racist. I live my life happily,” Sammy told Univision’s Primer Impacto in 2009.
6. It's not the safest method of skincare.
Dr. Peter Kopelson, a dermatologist told HollywoodLife.com of the cream: “Benzoquinone can [also] cause severe skin irritation and severe eye irritation. The vapor can also affect the breathing. He is absolutely at a greater risk for cancer than a regular Caucasian person because he has completely taken the pigment out of his skin.”
7. It's not completely effective, either.
Dr. Kopelson talked about the effects of the cream on the whole body “Any of these creams would have to be applied to the areas that you want to lighten,” he explained. “So unless he consistently applied it to his entire body, there is a possibility that he is much darker in the areas that people don’t see such as his chest area or his legs.”
Molly Given is a writer living in Philadelphia and lover of all things to do with mystery and magic in life. When she’s not writing her fingers off she can be found planning her next adventure in a new part of the world.