Is That Really The Price Of Being A Celebrity?

Recently I had the privilege of speaking with a friend of mine who has a media company in Atlanta. He, a Nigerian, works with a lot of celebrities from both Nigeria and Ghana.  As we spoke, various topics came up in our conversation.

One of the topics that really got to me was that of the mentality of some of the west African celebrities mainly the actresses who rest their strength, not in their talents and abilities, but on their complexion.

I must say that I was truly educated during our more than one hour phone chat.  My Nigerian friend, and his diverse and strong connections in the African movie industry in Atlanta and New York, shared the ‘reality check’ that some of these actresses come to find once they enter the States.

Many of the ‘light or fair’ skinned actresses seem to think that their complexion is some form of entitlement to stardom or even the ideal statement of beauty. Well, they are often, according to my friend, shocked to find that many of the girls in the US that they believe are white (caucasians) are actually black.

In the US “Blacks” come in a variety of shades, especially in the south.  Blacks range from mullato, high yellow, yellow, red, dirty red, light, brown….you get the picture.  I hear people use the term “halfcast” or even “mixed race” and yes, while here in the US we say “mixed” for people who are products of interracial parentage, it is usually accepted that if one of your parents are ‘black’ then you are ‘black’ no matter the shade of your complexion.

Well it seems that there is a new craze going around in the world of “celebritidom”.  We all know that the practice of using skin whitening products has always been around.

What I was informed of was that now there is a more aggressive form of whitening/lightening ones complexion.  Have you heard of glutathione injection? Well that is what the celebs are gravitating towards.

There is a Nigerian actress, well known in her own rights. She has naturally light skin tone but over night she has shot from just being light-skinned to white-skinned. It is so obvious. My dear you ain’t fooling anyone but yourself. I guess you’ve, the readers, have figured out by now who is that celebrity.

I must say this, when I was told about this glutathione injection I didn’t believe it. I had no clue.  I am kind of backwards on this topic, maybe because I don’t find it interesting.

A number of American celebrities have fallen “victim” to this ‘cosmetic’ procedure and some African celebs are following to boot.  Now, if the person has a fairly light complexion and takes the injection in moderate dosage, the changes are gradual and to some extent not easily noticeable.

If the person who uses it has a darker complexion the change will be more noticeable over time. Well we all know that we, the Ghanaian movie industry, has a few ‘fair’ skinned actresses of our own and there has been some questionable changes here and there.

For those of you who are movie buffs and movie lovers I suggest that you look at some of the older movies of some of our celebs and compare them with newer movies, or better yet just google some pictures of some of our beloved celebs and monitor the progressive ‘changes’ over time.  I can guarantee that you will be, shall I say, surprised?

If you have read or know anything about the glutathione injection you would know that it gives the skin a pinkish hue and some even purports that it aids in keeping the skin taunt (a fountain of youth).

The body naturally consist of glutathione but as we grow we produce less of it and our glutathione level is reduced.  Side effect of using glutathione injection is that it possesses toxic properties that can affect a person’s nervous system.

According to the Aging Studies Institute, large doses of glutathione can adversely affect a person by causing shakes and nervous twitches as well as forms of anxiety and depression. Excessive intake can also cause gastrointestinal problems.

Should our celebrities copy this behaviour? Are we not appreciative of who they are in all their natural beauty?

References

http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/glutathione-side-effects-1846506.html

http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Side_Effects_Of_Glutathione

By: Kathy E. L./United States Of America