“You had darker skin on television”, “It’s weird, in red carpet photos, you don’t have as light skin”, “I don’t know if it’s your makeup, but we looks like you’ve changed skin color” For several weeks, unpleasant comments have been popping up under Serena Williams’ publications, but also all over social networks.
Indeed, like many dark-skinned stars, the tennis champion is accused of wanting to whiten her skin: reproaches for which Beyoncé also regularly suffers.
Serena Williams’ update
Tired of these comments and these accusations, Serena Williams spoke this Monday, December 2, 2024, as part of an Instagram live. The 43-year-old tennis champion filmed herself applying makeup, explaining: “I apply this neutral color, which matches my skin tone perfectly. And no, for all my critics, I don’t lighten my skin.”
Serena Williams took the time to explain that, depending on the light, her skin could look more or less dark: “There’s a thing called the sun, and in the sun, colors can change” , she clarified with a touch of acid humor.
She denounces criticism from Internet users
At the end of November, a video taken while she participated in her daughter’s play earned her hundreds of criticisms on social networks. “It was stage makeup,” she asserts to her detractors. “And I’m talking about it because it’s really ridiculous that I’m facing these types of accusations.”
Angry, she explains: “Everyone says I lightened my skin, even though I’m a dark-skinned black woman, and I love who I am. I love the way I look. Bleach my skin , that’s not my thing.”
The champion, however, clarified that she has no problem with women who decide to lighten their own skin: “If it’s your thing, and you have the opportunity, don’t hesitate. Me, I don’t judge anyone, but you judge me,” she reproaches. “But that’s how things happen in the world, unfortunately. I stay the course: I don’t judge.” And to conclude: “But I want to make it clear: I don’t whiten my skin, so stop saying otherwise.”
