Retired baseball slugger Sammy Sosa began trending after years out of the public eye on Wednesday, July 12, when in a video clip aired during the 2017 ESPY Awards his skin appeared to be paler than it has ever been.
Sosa, who is Afro-Dominican and has Haitian ancestry by way of his paternal bloodline, was one of the most popular athletes of the 1990's and early 2000's. While he'd be celebrated in the U.S. and at home as one of the most prolific home run hitters of all time, he and Mark McGwire were dually responsible for drawing the suspicion that led to the league's investigation into the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs during his playing era. But despite the controversy surrounding the 7-time All-Star he was always well loved by the public for his positive, fun demeanor.
Following his exit from the MLB, a more personal controversy began to follow Sosa. After a short hiatus, the man who had been remembered for his brown skin and bright smile was still smiling wide, but he'd show up at events and public venues with a ghoulish complexion. In 2009 he admitted to lightening his skin tone, in an interview during which he stated, “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. I’m not a racist, I live my life happily.”
In the ESPY's segment, Sosa appears to be a shade or two whiter than he was some years ago. And he was dragged for it, with scores of users on social media joking about how he looked in his bubblegum pink suit.
Source: hollywoodlife.com
