A Gambian woman who has been reposted several times on Instagram for her stunning dark skin, has been accused by a Brazilian follower of being a white woman. The accuser created a meme of the model alleging that she sprays her skin a dark brown color in order to appear black. The woman pointed out the model’s hands and palms which appear lighter than her brown skin. Here is the translation:
“The greatest black woman you all respected, the greatest African woman you have exalted (laugh), is actually white. I’m dead with this “fulera” (slang that often means something or someone is cheap, worthless, ridicule), blacker than her…It reminds me of the pregnant woman from Taubate (a famous Brazilian story about a woman who faked a pregnancy of 4 babies with a huge fake belly) that made Edu Guedes (a Brazilian TV presenter) thrill with her unbelievable story, (continues laughing).”
Photo: Instagram.com/melvnin
“The greatest black woman you all respected, the greatest African woman you have exalted (laugh), is actually white. I’m dead with this “fulera” (slang that often means something or someone is cheap, worthless, ridicule), blacker than her…It reminds me of the pregnant woman from Taubate (a famous Brazilian story about a woman who faked a pregnancy of 4 babies with a huge fake belly) that made Edu Guedes (a Brazilian TV presenter) thrill with her unbelievable story, (continues laughing).”
Photo: Instagram.com/melvnin
The model responded to her accuser by making the valid point that most black people have uneven skin and you can have lighter hands than your face and body. Her followers also noted that the palms of your hands don’t have melanin, therefore they will always be light. 
A few of her followers also mentioned that they thought she might be in black face based on her “European features”.
Photo: Instagram.com/melvnin
The idea that @melvnin does not look black is absolutely ridiculous. The reality is that many people (including many black people themselves) are unaware of how diverse African genes are. In a 2015 interview legendary black supermodel Iman recalled being referred to by a journalist as “a white woman dipped in chocolate.”
“‘Probably, I’m more black than any black person in America.’ I mean I don’t have any white in me. I’m pure Somali,” Iman explained. “So to me, I took offense to that. I don’t look like a white woman. I look Somali.”
A 2009 scientific study found that Africans are genetically more diverse than the rest of the world combined. And this is exceedingly clear when considering the great diversity in skin color, hair texture and facial features across the African continent.
