Seeing a celebrity come back into the public eye after a long hiatus is a bit like seeing the weird family member that moved to the West Coast to "find themselves" after four years. Seeing Sammy Sosa come back into the public eye after a hiatus is like seeing the weird family member that moved to the west coast, got married, suffered a messy divorce and then came home acting like nothing ever happened. It just leaves you with a lot more questions than answers.
Sosa's lightening skin tone has been a source of wonder for people since 2009, when in a span of mere months Sosa came on TV looking a bit more pale than folks remembered him. He eventually had to deny claims that he was trying to lighten his skin, saying that it was a skin softener that "bleached [him] some" in the understatement of the year. And it was almost forgotten.
Then the Home Run Derby happened.
Sammy Sosa out here lookin like Pepto Bismal. pic.twitter.com/1xdKo84Bko
— OXTAIL GAWD (@ThatDudeMCFLY) July 13, 2017
The outfit really doesn't help, to be fair to Sosa. Although, Sosa doesn't help Sosa. In February, Sosa compared himself to Jesus Christ during a Skype interview with Chuck Wasserstrom. There was also this Bleacher Report post that found Sosa's Pinterest, which is a delightfully strange fever dream. Twitter, of course, was very mature and rational about Sosa's changes. Except for when they weren't. Which they literally never are.
Did Sammy Sosa go to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory? pic.twitter.com/3qP6WBt9r2
— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) July 13, 2017
Sammy Sosa really living his life as a one man Neapolitan Ice Cream pic.twitter.com/enU75FS5ML
— Ol' QWERTY Bastard (@TheDiLLon1) July 13, 2017
Sammy Sosa look like the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. pic.twitter.com/y3nPyL1HtF
— Craig Bro Dude (@CraigSJ) July 13, 2017
Sammy Sosa really on his way to becoming the first invisible man pic.twitter.com/PtScjSlU6X
— Villaz (@ChrisVillaz) July 13, 2017
I don't know what Sammy Sosa is going through, but the most important lesson I've learned in life is to love yourself for who you are. pic.twitter.com/uZ5hH2dTG9
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 13, 2017
Congrats to Sammy Sosa on landing the Franken Berry endorsement. pic.twitter.com/SJbgmRpZg8
— brandon® (@brandojerg) July 13, 2017
Yo Sammy Sosa turned into the Pink Panther. pic.twitter.com/uymFOO0Oyg
— The Fake ESPN (@TheFakeESPN) July 13, 2017