'The white man owns her': African pop star hits out at Twelve Years a Slave actress Lupita for signing contract to be face of 'white people company' Lancome

Nigerian and Cameroonian pop star Dencia has hit out at Lupita Nyong'o for her new contract with Lancome, accusing her of bowing to 'white people companies'.
In an angry tweet directed at the 12 Years A Slave star, she wrote: 'Oh @Lupita_Nyongo cln't talk abt the bleaching creams white people (Companies) make cuz the white man pays her, they own her!! [sic]'.
The comment comes just a month after Miss Nyong'o mentioned Dencia - who has been accused of marketing her own brand of skin-bleaching cream called Whitenicious - in a speech about learning to value the color of her own skin.

Butting heads: Nigerian and Cameroonian pop star Dencia has hit out at Lupita Nyong'o for her new contract with Lancome, accusing her of bowing to 'white people companies'

Fighting words: In a tweet directed at the 12 Years A Slave star, she wrote: 'Oh @Lupita_Nyongo cln't talk abt the bleaching creams white people (Companies) make cuz the white man pays her, they own her!! [sic]'

The pop star is no stranger to controversy; in a February interview with Ebony, she all but admitted that Whitenicious is intended as a skin-lightener, not as a cure for dark spots as it claims.
'When you take that picture and you put a picture of Dencia darker, this is what you're telling people - the product really works,' she said.
'And guess what? People really want to buy it. It's what it is. I don't really care.'

Given her defiant and hypocritical attitude, it's no surprise the fiery singer was angered when Miss Nyong'o called her out in a speech at Essence's Black Women in Hollywood event on February 27.

Lupita Nyong'o tells of how she once prayed for lighter skin

Influential: In a recent speech, Miss Nyong'o read out loud a letter from a fan who said she decided not to buy Dencia's skin-whitening cream Whitenicious because the actress had inspired her to love her own skin

On-screen: Miss Nyong'o won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 2013 film 12 Years A Slave

In her talk, the 30-year-old opened up about how conventional standards of beauty once affected her self-esteem, reading aloud a letter written to her by a young girl who viewed her as a role model.
'Dear Lupita,' reads the letter. 'I think you're really lucky to be this black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia's Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.'
'My heart bled a little when I read those words,' the actress said through tears, explaining how as a child, she, too, would pray that she'd one day wake up with lighter skin. 

Lupita Nyong'o reveals herself as a Lancôme ambassadress

Hypocritical: Dencia is no stranger to controversy; in a February interview with Ebony, she essentially admitted that Whitenicious is intended as a skin-lightener, not as a cure for dark spots as it claims

Perpetuating the problem: 'When you take that picture and you put a picture of Dencia darker, this is what you're telling people - the product really works,' she said. 'And guess what? People really want to buy it'

But while the actress saw the letter as a source of inspiration, Dencia took it as a personal attack.
After her angry tweet at Miss Nyong'o, criticism poured in, with one person tweeting: 'B**** lupita is the new face of Lancôme!! SHE WINS!! And you're just TRASH [sic]'.
In her response, Dencia said of the cosmetics company: 'But they sell bleaching cream tho [sic]'.
The pop star is likely referring to Lancome's Blanc Expert range of cosmetics, which are actually advertised as 'brighteners' that 'regulate melanin production and awaken the luminosity of the skin'.
And as far as Dencia's claim that Lancome is a 'white people company', a quick perusal of the website reveals that it has a number of concealers and foundations in darker skin tones.

DM