Nigerian-Cameroonian pop star Dencia is hell-bent on defending her stance behind her controversial skin-bleaching line Whitenicious that claims to help consumers “say goodbye to dark spots.”
In a recent interview, the star squared off against Black Role Models UK founder Phinnah Ikeji to explain why her product was perfectly fine for the well-being and self-esteem for women and young girls.
“White means pure, but it doesn’t mean [skin], but white in general,” she explained when asked about the name. “That’s how I look at it, it means pure. When you have dark spots, a lot of people don’t feel comfortable, they don’t feel pure. They don’t feel clean with dark spots.”
Dencia went on to blame the media about making the conversation over the product center on the deeply rooted skin complex within the African/African-American community. She also addressed Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o‘s disapproval of bleaching creams such as Whitenicious, stating that it was her choice to lighten her skin.
Ikeji chimed in saying, “I’m an adult so I’ve already made up my choice. I’m happy with my skin color, but we’re looking at the young girls growing up now. They see you, they love your music. They love you as a person and they’ve seen that you were darker before and now you’re much lighter. What’s the message that it’s going to be to them?”
Check out the entire interview below.