Sosa Skin Bleach Inspires Yet More Unfortunate Racial Fallout

Most people had a few chuckles at Sammy Sosa’s sudden light-skin transformation on the red carpet a few weeks back. That is, until it stopped being funny when Sosa said the response to the photos led him to consider endorsing the skin bleaching cream that he has been using.↵↵Still, some folks have a hard time letting gags go. And still others just don’t know to navigate that fine line between good natured ribbing and all-out offensive behavior. I’m occasionally one of those people, but so too is Enrique Santos, the morning guy at a Miami radio station and a television personality on Univision. According to his web site, he was bounced from Sammy Sosa’s 41st birthday party because he showed up in blackface.↵

↵↵Certainly a justified dismissal. Sorry, blackface doesn’t really fly in almost any context, even if you’re only responding to Sosa lightening himself. But then Santos oh-so cutely tried to play dumb later for the Miami Herald.↵

↵↵⇥“I asked [Sosa’s publicist], `How many women in here are wearing makeup?’ but she wasn’t having it,” Santos told us. “Was I not white enough for Sammy’s party or have the millions gotten to his skin -- I mean head?”↵↵↵Quite the zinger, Mr. Santos. People have a right to be upset with Sosa for proposing to endorse a historically racially sensitive product as skin bleach, but perhaps this wasn’t the way to go about tweaking him.↵

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