Serena Williams is setting the record straight. During an Instagram Live on December 2, 2024, Serena addressed the “ridiculous” claims that she bleaches her skin. The rumors about Serena’s appearance began circulating after a video of Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, went viral.
The video showed Serena and her husband at a school event, but it went viral for an unexpected reason: people accused Serena of altering her complexion.
The tennis star later deleted the video, but she addressed the accusations while doing a makeup tutorial for her Wyn Beauty brand on Monday. As she applied her makeup, Serena explained each step while also calling out the “haters” who accused her of bleaching her skin.
“I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color,” she said. “And no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin.” She then went on to explain why her complexion might’ve looked lighter in the viral video. “There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors,” she said.
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Additionally, when she recorded the video, she was at her daughter’s play. Serena added that she was volunteering at the play and had “stage makeup” on that day because of her role.
Addressing the haters directly, she made her position clear: “Yes, I’m calling you out on this because it is ridiculous that everyone’s like, ‘oh, she bleaches her skin.'”
After denying the allegations, Serena explained that she loves the way she looks and doesn’t have any desire to alter her complexion. “I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look,” she asserted. Referring to the idea of bleaching her skin, she said, “that’s just not my thing.”
If people choose to bleach their skin, Serena isn’t going to judge — even though people have judged her for how she looks. “If people do it, that’s their thing, and they have every opportunity and they should. I don’t judge, but you guys do,” she said.
“But that’s what this world is about, and I stay in my lane — the non-judgy one, and I keep it,” Serena continued. “But no, I actually don’t bleach my skin, so can we just kinda clear that up?”
