After much speculation and debate, Spice said that she didn’t actually bleach her skin.
It was something she revealed on Instagram and said the whole thing was to draw attention to colorism, an issue she feels really passionate about.
Nearly two weeks ago the “Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta” star posted a photo that made it look like she bleached her skin.
“On October 22nd I posted a picture of myself where I looked like I altered my appearance and metamorphosis to match the Eurocentric beauty standards,” wrote Spice. “I fearlessly addressed an issue that has been swept under the rug and boldly took the stance in bringing a taboo topic to the forefront. I chose to do this in the manner I did because I believe colorism is plagiarizing our Black community.”
Spice then said besides dealing with disrespect in her own life, she constantly sees darker skin women speak out about being downgraded or put aside, Plus, she explained the song wouldn’t have gotten the same attention if she didn’t couple it with the controversial image.
“Would the message in my song have been received as well as it did world wide if I didn’t go to the extreme with the picture?” asked Spice. “The truth is no, it would have probably been just another Spice hit song. So yes, I had to go the extra mile to ensure my message be heard.”
“To put a end to the debate, I did not bleach my skin,” she added. “And I quote ‘Proud a mi color, love mi pretty Black skin, respect due to mi strong melanin.’ Words from my ‘Black Hypocrisy’ song that I wrote from my heart.”
After reading the post, many praised Spice for going to such great lengths to bring the issue of colorsim to the forefront, while others just said they were glad she didn’t’ bleach her skin.
“Love you, Spice,” one person wrote. “I knew you would never bleach your beautiful skin.”
“Your way better than me. I was going to boycott her,” wrote another. “I have been waiting for this. I take bleaching too serious to see such an influential strong Black woman make a change like that. Tore me apart.”
“That’s some hard marketing,” Spice, a third person wrote. “But I wasn’t fooled. I know you as a mother figure and knew you wouldn’t want your kids following that example.”