The rumors have been swirling about this for months, and it looks like it’s actually going to happen. Naomi Campbell will likely be subpoenaed for Liberian warlord/president Charles Taylor’s war crimes tribunal at the Hague. It all started when Mia Farrow recounted a story about a weekend she, Naomi and others had spent in South Africa with Nelson Mandela. Charles Taylor was there – and allegedly, he sent one of his men to Naomi’s room to present her with a large uncut (blood) diamond. According to Farrow, Naomi was bragging about this the next day. When ABC News asked Naomi about it, she threw a hissy fit and attacked a camera. When Oprah asked her about it, Naomi muttered something about wanting to protect her family.
Naomi Campbell will surely put on a brave smile tomorrow when her billionaire boyfriend, Vlad Doronin, throws her a lavish 40th birthday party at the Hotel du Cap with every celebrity from the Cannes Film Festival. But the excitable supermodel must be worried.
Prosecutors of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, on trial at The Hague for war crimes, have asked the judges to subpoena Campbell to testify about “blood diamonds” she allegedly received from the warlord in the middle of one night in 1997.
The leggy stunner and Mia Farrow were in the guest house of Nelson Mandela inSouth Africa when Taylor’s men threw pebbles at a window and woke her up.
Farrow told ABC News last month she learned of the diamond gift the next morning at breakfast: “Naomi Campbell . . . said during the night some men had knocked on her door and she, half-asleep, had opened the door and it was representatives of President Charles Taylor and that they had given her a huge diamond. And we were like, ‘Oh, my gosh!’”
Campbell’s former modeling agent, Carole White, who was also on the trip, saw the ABC News report and came forward to tell prosecutors she saw several men giving Campbell a “half-dozen” rough stones. White, according to her lawyer Daniel Bright, said Campbell was disappointed the gems were uncut. Prosecutors also want to subpoena White and Farrow to testify.
Taylor is on trial for inciting a bloody rebellion in neighboring Sierra Leone. Prosecutors say Taylor was in South Africa to buy weapons for the rebels with the diamonds.
When Oprah Winfrey asked Campbell about the diamonds during an appearance on her show earlier this month, Naomi said, “I don’t want to be involved in this man’s case — he has done some terrible things and I don’t want to put my family in danger.”
[From Page Six]
The “family” line always get me. Like Naomi has family in Liberia that Taylor’s men could get to or something. Here’s another point – if Naomi willing and knowingly received one or more blood diamonds from Taylor, she could conceivably be charged with a crime as well. But she won’t be – the prosecution just wants Naomi to help their case and put a genocidal madman behind bars, and the defense just wants Naomi to lie and say she never got anything from Taylor or his men. Plus, as Gawker points out: “Considering her reaction last time someone asked her about it, we hope that whoever has to serve her papers is wearing body armor. If she’ll throw a cell phone at the help when they can’t find the pair of jeans she’s looking for, just imagine what she’d do to a process server.” This should be good.
Header: Naomi in Cannes on May 20, 2010. Credit: Bauer-Griffin.
I really hope she does the right thing and admits the truth so that evil man can be put behind bars.
Kaye that would be wonderful, however I have a feeling she will hurl a cell phone in the courtroom.
So she accepted a diamond and??? What am I missing?
And the “family” line could be true. You’re assuming their reach stops at the Liberian border. The Taylor family has ties to Canada and the US (wasn’t he arrested in Florida?). They are some very very bad people. I’m not making excuses for her, Naomi is crazy but it’d be logical for her to be a little afraid.
The leggy stunner? Who writes this drivel?
She’ll stun you all right. With a phone to the head.
She really is a vile human being.
Maybe at the time it was happening, she was afraid or too shocked to decline the gifts. If guys like these suddenly showed up unexpectedly in the middle of the night at the guest house where you were staying, wanting to give you gifts, would you really feel okay about refusing and turning them away?
It sounds as though they intruded onto the property and went straight to the guest house where these women were possibly staying alone. As in Mandela’s staff or security (if he has any) weren’t aware of trespassers.
I can kind of appreciate that she would tell people there the next morning- either in the context of bragging, or from a personal safety standpoint- and then not want to tell other people afterward, also possibly for safety reasons.
How many people would eagerly publicly disclose or tell the police that a bunch of hell’s angel’s bikers suddenly showed up in the middle of the night to give them an illegal present?
Seriously, if anyone should write a autobiography one day it should be Naomi Campbell. What a crazy life she has led!!
one of the greatest supermodels of all time. been in music videos and movies. Famous boyfriends in music and film–and no slouches either: The Edge and De Niro. intersected with uber famous friends and jet set lifestyle for the last 20+ years. then, arrests, violent outbursts, court appearances, serving community service. Interviewing presidents and dictators for TV. Billionaire russian oil baron and blood diamonds and african warlords. I mean Holy Shit! I WANT TO READ ALL THE DEETS!
She needs to add “Author” to her list of job titles.
Persistent Cat – she didn’t just take some lovely, sparkly diamond, she accepted a blood diamond. You need to take a step back and educate yourself on this matter if you believe acceptance of such a thing should come with no moral or legal consequences.
I don’t know why the “family” would get anyone…He is a warlord!!!…he can employ just about any goon in any country to take her or her family out. She has every reason to be afraid.
I could not decide when I watched NC on Oprah if she was a genuine person or not. But I loved when Oprah told her that she is too much of a beautiful person on the outside to behave the way she does, that she also needs to work on her inner beauty (or something of the sort). She needs to be honest with the authorities and tell the them what she knows.
Methinks she doesn’t want to return her diamonds. Naomi is the devil. What her snotty little ass needs is a good beating.
never had the gracefulness nor style of the likes of christy turlington ,cindy crawford etc naomi sadly.
She’s had her eyes and face done. She’s a nasty cow.
All Naomi really needs is a hot lead injection.
“Like Naomi has family in Liberia that Taylor’s men could get to or something”
That’s a little naive of you. When it comes to politics you’d be surprised the lengths corruption reaches. And a man who achieved that much power being a tyrant didn’t do so on his own, and without outside help for that matter.
On the other hand I hope she does the right thing, because it is exactly this fear that hinders justice and positive change.
I have to say as nasty as she is, I believe she is afraid.
I would hesitate to talk too.
Naomi never struck me as a person who would put her ass on the line for the greater good. I would be very surprised if she did the ‘right’ thing.
Wow, I can’t believe the comments! Yeh, she’s rude and beats people up. She’s also come to terms with her issues enough to get into therapy…more than MANY other celebrities I can count on my two hands. So that automatically takes away her right to be fearful in a dam* scary situation? Anyone in their right mind would run away like a chicken with their head cut off.
Well, at least she knows she can get security protection from her Billionaire Russian boyfriend! I can never live with myself had anyone give me blood diamonds or any gifts in that context.