A Model, Not a Role Model: Naomi Campbell's 'Blood Diamond' Controversy

Veteran model Naomi Campbell is currently on the hot seat for receiving 'blood diamonds' from former Liberian president Charles Taylor.

The dictator is accused of trading diamonds for weapons used in a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone. Campbell, who met Taylor at a dinner at Nelson Mandela's house in South Africa in 1997, claims she didn't know who Taylor was or of his involvement with war crimes. Actress Mia Farrow, who was also at the dinner, has testified that Campbell received uncut blood diamonds from Taylor's representatives that evening and discussed it with her the next morning. Campbell's former publicist also testified that Campbell knew before receiving the diamonds that Taylor planned to give them to her. Campbell refused to willingly give testimony at the Taylor's war crimes trial, and initially denied ever receiving any diamonds. When she finally did appear at the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague in the Netherlands last week, after being subpoenaed, she arrived late and exclaimed, "I didn't really want to be here. I was made to be here. So, obviously I'm just, like, wanting to get this over with and get on with my life. This is a big inconvenience for me."

Campbell's testimony contradicted Farrow's and her agent's -- she said she did receive "two dirty rocks" from a couple of unknown men that night, but she did not know they were representatives of Taylor.

Now, Campbell has come under fire from critics who believe she was not remorseful enough for her relationship with Taylor or for the part she has played in delaying his indictment. Sure, Naomi's diva-like behavior during the trial was reprehensible, but are we surprised?

Though Naomi has lent her support to AIDS in Africa and various other charitable efforts, she model -- a generally voiceless but beautiful "coat hanger" designers use to display their fashionable goods.

In her private life, she's thrown Blackberries at assistants and manhandled drivers, unabashedly displaying that, while she's a public figure, she's still a hot-tempered, flawed human being. Of course, we'd love Campbell to issue a statement decrying Taylor's war crimes, or even condemn the process of illegally acquiring blood diamonds. But perhaps her critics' anger is misplaced. We want her to be someone we admire, but, beyond her talents as a model, she's never been particularly admirable. She's been in trouble with the law for abusing hired help. She wears fur without a thought to the animals skinned to make her coats. And she receives diamonds with no regard as to who they came from or how they were acquired. She's a fashion model, not a role model.

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Naomi Campbell Pics

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Naomi Campbell Pics