NEWSSerena Williams Adamantly Denies Bleaching Her Skin After Video Sparked Speculation Among Fans: 'Ridiculous!'
Serena Williams denied bleaching her skin after a video sparked speculation about her complexion.
Serena Williams is setting the record straight regarding speculation surrounding her bleached complexion.
The tennis legend went live on Instagram on Monday, December 2, to address rumors that she used chemicals to lighten her skin. The buzz began after she shared a clip from her kids’ school program, where she appeared alongside her husband, Alexis Ohanian.
Serena Williams put an end to rumors about her skin being bleached.
“And then I put just that neutral color, that is actually my skin color. And no, for you haters out there, I do not bleach my skin,” Williams said during the live session, which doubled as a makeup tutorial for her Wyn Beauty cosmetic brand.
“There is a thing called sunlight, and in that sunlight, you get different colors,” she added. “Yes, I’m calling you out on this because it is ridiculous.”
The mom-of-two made it clear that altering her skin tone is not her “thing.”
“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, she bleached her skin.’ I’m a dark, Black woman, and I love who I am, and I love how I look,” Williams explained. “And if people do it, that’s their thing, and they have every opportunity and they should. I don’t judge, but you guys do.”
The tennis star proudly declared that she is a 'Black woman.'
“But that’s what this world is about, and I stay in my lane — the non-judgy one and I keep it. But no, I actually don’t bleach my skin, so can we just kinda clear that up?” she reiterated.
The tennis star clarified that her lighter appearance in the now-viral video from late November was due to the "stage makeup" she wore while volunteering at her daughter’s school play. In the clip, her husband rocked a gothic red and black costume, while Williams completed her look with a gold hair brooch and dangling ruby earrings.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
The athlete shares two children with her husband, Alexis Ohanian.
Despite her explanation, critics still flooded the post with harsh comments.
“She got Michael Jacksoned?” one user wrote, referring to the late famous pop star who suffered from some form of vitiligo, while another chimed in, “Trying her best to get white.”
“This b---- got a blond weave and she's like 10 shades lighter than she was born and it looks like she's had some plastic surgery. She sounds stupid AF,” a third criticized.
“U look like a white women .. self-hate at its fullest,” a fourth added.
Her husband recently underwent surgery to have his thyroid nodules removed.
This isn’t the first time the athlete has faced scrutiny over her appearance.
In the past, online rumors suggested she had undergone cosmetic surgery and used Ozempic for weight loss.
In August, Williams shut down the noise with a cheeky Instagram post, sharing photos of herself in a denim-on-denim outfit paired with a beige bodysuit.
“100% real … forehead to toe … lol,” she captioned the snaps.
