Tamar Braxton has been accused of skin bleaching ever since her reality TV debut on Braxtons Family Values in 2011, but now she is explaining that what people are confusing for skin bleaching is really a battle with the skin disease Vitiligo.
Tamar’s husband, Vince Herbert, already spilled the beans during another interview earlier this year but now Tamar is coming forward to talk about her condition herself.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that causes discoloration in the skin due to the loss of skin pigments.
Well Tamar explained that she has had Vitiligo since she was young and people have always been trying to attack her instead of support her as she dealt with the disease.
“Anybody with skin issues knows that that’s a very sensitive subject,” Tamar explained to Ebony. “And that’s why I’ve never shared that I have Vitiligo, because I do. I’ve always had it since I was a young girl. It’s not as bad as others because everybody has it differently, but I’ve certainly had mine diagnosed. That’s why I tan. People say, ‘You bleach your skin!’ But I tan just so I can have better tone on my skin, boo!”
What a shame that the skin bleaching rumors persisted even after Vince admitted in an interview that his wife had Vitiligo.
Perhaps, for some strange twisted reason, people didn’t believe the claims when Vince said it so Tamar made sure she showed off some photo proof to go along with her interview.
The reality star and R&B songstress posted pictures of her hand on Instagram that revealed the spots of discoloration on her skin. She also added a photo of herself as a child dealing with the disease.
She went on to admit that the disease has gotten worse over time and after getting pregnant it was much more noticeable than ever.
“It’s gotten worse since I’ve gotten pregnant,” Braxton added. “If you shake my hands now, to me it’s more noticeable. But when you get diagnosed with a skin disorder, it’s hard.”
She even admitted that it has a massive impact on her self-esteem at times.
Either way, she put her foot down about having to defend herself against skin bleaching rumors.
“But I’m done defending that,” she continued. “I’m not bleaching my skin and if I was bleaching my skin and I felt like saying so, I would, but for the record, I am not.”
Well there you have it, the rumor mill has been shut down and rightfully so.
There are certain situations where the media shouldn’t jump to conclusions especially when it has the potential to truly impact someone in a negative way.
Other celebs such as Michael Jackson, Sisqo, and Tempestt Bledsoe have also fought with vitiligo while in the media spotlight.
Fortunately, there are several organizations now that are coming forward to support people with the disease and even give them a major support system of others who are experiencing the same thing.
Young entrepreneur Natasha Pierre created Vitiligo Bond Inc. where vitiligans can come together to support one another and help raise money for more research about the mysterious illness.
