Last week, major league baseball player Sammy Sosa stepped out at an event in Las Vegas looking several shades lighter than usual (SEE HIS PHOTO BELOW). Here was his (b.s.) reasoning:

“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. The flashes (from the cameras) also made my skin look lighter. I’m surprised with the controversy this has caused.” And Sosa would not disclose the name of the cream he uses, saying that it was European and that he was in negotiations to market the product. Spare us, please.

Diddy: Dark-Skinned Girls Need Not Apply

Now, while I think the decision to go pale and pasty is his and his alone, I don’t quite understand the reasoning behind it, and if some people could see me now, they’d say, “And you never will…,” because I, myself, am by no means considered “dark” to many. Having parents of two different Caribbean Island backgrounds made me a simple shade of tan. That’s right, tan. I’m not caramel, brown sugar, or butterscotch because I’m not your dessert condiment.

If being light-skinned is so grand, then why are the ones who have no say in the matter, who were naturally born that way, still subject to ridicule? We’re told we’re acting “high-yella,” even when we’re not, simply because our skin color is enough for rationale. And those “light-bright” and “redbone” nicknames get old quick; in fact, they rival the name-calling that happens on a playground because they’re juvenile and just as insulting. They sure as hell aren’t compliments.

Omarion Only Dates Light-Skinned Women

And if being light isn’t considered superior, than why do both the media and celebrities seem to be so fixated on it? What’s wrong with being dark-skinned? Applying the “Chicken-Or-The Egg” school of thought to this matter, I wonder what came first. Was it the entertainment industry who told us that light-and-bright is always all right? Or is each incident (i.e. skin-bleaching, Photoshop white-washing, etc.) an isolated one, and completely unrelated to another?

Start Gallery

A couple of days ago, I posted Jeremih’s “Birthday Sex” video for my PLAY OR SLAY? column. But instead of telling me whether or not the video sucks, the majority of the comments focused on the ethnicity of the main girl in the video.

What the hell?

For one thing, the column was about the video, not the girl. But I’m always open to hearing a good debate, so I’m willing to hear out all complaints. However, what’s with all these folks talking about her being white? She’s clearly not white, so pick another argument. Is it that she’s lightskinned, or “ethnically ambiguous”? Are we going to go into that again? Fine. But here’s my beef: why do you care so much? You didn’t produce the video. You’re not in the video. You don’t have to watch the video.

I DO think it sucks that there are video directors and artists who take preference over browner girls, and that’s really wack. But maybe I’m just an equal-opportunity employer, having two black parents of completely opposite skin tones and having crushed on or dated men of literally all ethnicities, and that could very well be why I think this debate is kind of bullshit. She’s just a pretty girl who beat out a bunch of other pretty girls to get the spot in this video. Maybe there were shadier things afoot in the making of the vid, but who knows? We weren’t there. I’m just kind of pissed at the fact that her racial ambiguity automatically makes her “white,” and therefore makes her “wrong.” That’s ignorance at its best. Or maybe I’m just sore because she reminds me of my little sister, who has green eyes and light skin and hair down to her butt, which has, on more than a few occasions, automatically made her “white” and thus “wrong.”

All I’m saying is, if you’ve got a good basis for bitching, by all means, do it. Go on – be mad that yet another light-skinned girl gets some shine over the millions of beautiful dark-skinned women out there. Be mad that the video just isn’t that good altogether and, to add insult to injury, they’re using a woman of “preferred”  skin tone as its main focus.  But if you’re going to rant, get your facts in order before you run around spouting hate. Cause at the end of the day, all this chick did was get paid.