Beyoncé in 2008 (left) and Beyoncé earlier this week (right)
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In truth, it is hard now to tell she is the daughter of an African-American father and Creole mother. It was three years ago that L’Oreal was accused of whitening Beyonce’s face in a magazine advert, a charge denied by the company. But now there she is, looking like a willowy Caucasian.
The complaint over Beyoncé’s rumored color complex goes all the way back to her Destiny’s Child days (the second incarnation), when an ousted group member claimed Beyoncé’s dad and then-manager, Matthew Knowles, made her tan her naturally light skin so that Beyoncé could remain the lightest in the group.
Since then, fans and foes have watched as she’s gotten blonder and brighter with each passing album. By the time she hit 2007′s duet with Shakira, half the appeal of the video was the carbon copy mind trick they executed on screen — which one’s which?
So what’s Beyonce’s excuse for her “whitening ways”? Does she have some hidden childhood color-complex, or has she simply caved into entertainment industry pressure to “go white”? Considering how hugely successful she is, we doubt that she has to do anything against her will. Come on, we’re talking Beyonce here. She can decide how black (or white) she really is- unfortunately, given her rapidly changing shades, her fans evidently can’t say the same.
