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Sheryl Lee Ralph says what’s on her mind and I love it. She’s very honest and direct. Last I wrote about her, she called out Jimmy Kimmel for his disrespectful actions during Quinta Brunson’s Emmy win. And now she’s calling out the Kardashians by name and other people who appropriate/emulate Black features and style. A reporter asked her about advice to her younger self on the Golden Globes carpet and Sheryl answered with the general message of loving yourself the way you are and some specific lip injection shade.
Sheryl Lee Ralph appears to be throwing a dig at the Kardashians.
While walking the red carpet at the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday (January 10), the 66-year-old Abbott Elementary actress was asked by by a reporter what advice she would give to her 15-year-old self.
In her answer, Sheryl shaded the Kardashian-Jenner ladies.“There’s nothing wrong with your nose. There is nothing wrong with the shade of your skin,” Sheryl told InStyle. “There is nothing wrong with the way your hair grows out of your head.”
She continued, “And there is certainly nothing wrong with your lips because there will be some people called Kardashians and they will pay $10,000 for your lips. Hang in there 15-year-old Sheryl Lee Ralph! You’re good!”
After her comments went viral, Sheryl seemingly doubled down on her interview, tweeting later that night, “I said what I said. Now, I’m going to bed. Goodnight! ”
I chuckled a bit that Sheryl’s doubling down included a rhyme. She said what she said and now she’s getting her rest. Sheryl was only asked about what advice she’d give herself and maybe the KarJenners caught a stray bit of shade here, but she’s not wrong. Euro-centric beauty standards of straight hair, light skin, etc, are really damaging to young Black girls. The way those white features are idealized is harmful and I definitely could have used Sheryl’s advice as a teen when I was insecure about those things. The message was so internalized I didn’t even realize at the time it was anti-Black. And it’s still damaging that all those attributes are celebrated on white women who come by them surgically instead of the Black women who have them naturally. And yes, Sheryl’s completely right that people pay good money for a pale imitation of these lips. No lies detected here.
photos credit: Getty and Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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