The number of black men who whitened their skin has kept on increasing. Bleaching is common among black women. But it is not limited to only women. Black men also bleach. The only difference is the percentage of men and women who bleach. One very popular black man who bleached his skin was Michael Jackson. The American pop star and iconic singer and dancer used creams, surgery, and other methods to whiten his skin and he was as white as a white man.
Even though Michael claimed he whitened his skin because he was suffering from vitiligo (a skin disorder that leaves with patches on the skin), the multiple awards winning artist went on to change his nose, hair, and other features to that of a Caucasian.
And the need for some black men to have a lighter skin tone has not changed. Below are 10 Black men who whitened their skin.
SEE ALSO: Bleached Beauty: 7 African Women Who Made News.
Pele Okiemute
Popularly known as the Nigerian bleaching expert, Pele Okiemute is a Nigerian man who whitened his skin and made news around the time Dencia was trending with her bleaching and Whitenicious skin lightening products. The Nigerian cosmetic entrepreneur opens about the fact he bleached his skin. And he claims his clients are mainly Nigerian celebrities and socialites who crave for a lighter skin tone. Pele gained popularity when his before and after skin bleaching photos were shared online.
Pele Okiemute’s Client
After controversially making fame as a bleaching expert, Pele shared a before and after bleaching transformation of this young man – claiming he is one of his clients. The bleaching expert shared the photos with the caption: “At Last, My Client has been successfully Transformed. It’s so sweet wen u spend money and u get d satisfaction u desire. Skin formula’s of d highest order signed pels International.”
Benson Okonkwo
Benson Okonkwo is a Nigerian actor who whitened his skin. Even though he has denied bleaching his skin on several occasions, his before and after photos tells a different story. Standing by his claim of not bleaching his skin, the Nollywood actor said he achieved his fairer skin tone by constantly drinking a lot of water. Apart from being blasted for whitening his skin, Benson has been accused of being gay due to the way he dresses and poses on images he shares online. The Nollywood actor and model was relatively unknown until he was blasted for bleaching his skin and being gay.
Alao Akala
Adebayo Alao-Akala is the former governor of Oyo State in Nigeria and was known by man as #TheBleachingGovernor. Even though this Nigerian politician has denied bleaching his skin to become fairer, the disagreement between his knuckles and other parts of his body says otherwise. In an interview with Adeola Balogun and Tunde Odesola, Alao-Akala was confronted with the question of whether he was bleaching his body. “You are very silly” for asking such a question, Alao told the interviewer.
“Bleach? That is stupidity; you are asking a very silly question, how can I bleach? You are very silly to ask that question. What do you mean by that? What gave you that impression?
(He pulled up his clothes and singlet to show his fair complexion.)
“Is this bleaching? Have you seen the cream that I use that makes me bleach or did you know me when I was black? So if you want to write that, put it there that I said you are very silly to ask me that kind of question. Don’t ask that kind of question again. What you don’t know; you ask. You don’t even know my parents. Is my wife complaining or my children? I don’t know what gave anybody the impression that I bleach. You don’t know me; do you know what it takes to bleach?,” the former governor said.
Vybz Kartel
Vybz Kartel is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist who whitened his skin and did not make a secret about transforming his skin tone. When asked about the skin tone change the artist said it was the same as white people tanning their skin to look brown.
“This is my new image. You can expect the unexpected. I feel comfortable with black people lightening their skin. They want a different look. It’s tantamount to white people getting a sun tan,” he said.
Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa is a retired professional baseball player who whitened his skin. The former sportsman played with four Major League Baseball teams over a 19-year career and was a great hitter in Major League Baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s. He started bleaching in 2009, after retiring from professional baseball. Since then, he has remained in the news for whitening his skin. Speaking about his new look, Sosa said: “It’s a bleaching cream that I apply before going to bed and whitens my skin some. 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.”
Don André
Don André is a UK-based dancehall deejay who whitened his skin and bragged about it in his single titled, ”Bleach Out.”
“I’m so brown and I am proud of it. Mi madda dead suh nuhbody cyah tell mi how fi live. Mi still a bleach nuh matta how mi skin a strip. Jah kno, mi like when girls ask how mi duh it… Bleach out until me get white mi. Colour higher than a satellite. I’m so white, I’m so white,” the artist sings.
Alkaline
Alkaline is another dancehall artist who whitened his skin. The young Jamaican deejay shared his whitened skin photos on his Facebook page and they immediately went viral. His fans started calling him a copycat saying he was trying to be like Vybz Kartel. In the transformation photos, Alkaline is not only seen with a whitened skin tone, but with long straightened hair and excessive body tattoo. In the before picture, he is wearing a school uniform with his original skin tone still intact.
Checkdhat
Checkdhat is another dancehall artist who whitened his skin. The artist who also pierced and tattooed his eyes wrote, was proud of the result he got from using skin bleaching creams and products. “This is not even bleaching no more its a miracle me @ 15 n 20,” he wrote.”
Fraink White
Fraink White is a Youtuber who whitened his skin and is very proud of it. He says he’s a lifestyle and natural skincare vlogger and most of his videos are about skin bleaching.
What’s your view on this trend of black men who whitened their skin? Some of the men think they look much more handsome after lightening their skin. Do you agree? Please share your views by leaving a comment below.
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