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Naomi Campbell's Blood Diamond Link to Be Investigated

By Paul Shepard on Jun 1st 2010 9:50AM
Filed under: News, Profiles, Politics, Race and Civil Rights

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Naomi Campbell Blood Diamond

Prosecutors in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor want to add a little glamour to the proceedings by calling supermodel Naomi Campbell as a witness to Taylor's involvement with "blood diamonds." The diamonds are mined in a war zone and then sold to finance a warlord or insurgent's activity.

Taylor's attorney, however, is calling the effort to have Campbell testify "a publicity stunt."

If the prosecution gets its wish, the trial could take the cantankerous Campbell away from her hobbies of throwing phones at underlings, berating cab drivers, and serving as eye candy on the arm of her rich Russian boyfriend, Vladmir Doronin, at celebrity galas.

It was at another of Campbell's star-studded meetings, this time with the feared warlord Taylor at a presidential dinner in South Africa in 1997, that is at the center of the controversy. The leggy model allegedly received uncut diamonds from Taylor's representatives as a gift.


Prosecutors say that Taylor used so-called blood diamonds to purchase arms and control brutal rebel fighters in neighboring Sierra Leone. They maintain that if Taylor gave a gift of diamonds to Campbell, it would help prove their case that Taylor orchestrated the fighting in Sierra Leone, as many international observers allege.

Campbell's denials that she received diamonds from Taylor are wearing thin.

Her infamous temper flared during a recent interview with an ABC producer; Campbell slapped at the producer's camera, after she was asked about Taylor's alleged gift.

Meanwhile, the court has asked to subpoena actress Mia Farrow, who has said she remembered Campbell telling her that she received a gift of a large diamond from Taylor.

It's hard to muster up much compassion for Campbell, who has a history of treating people around her like garbage. She is the epitome of today's spoiled celebrity blessed with the gift of incredible physical beauty -- but little else.

But my problem with her in this case has little to do with her selfish reputation. If Campbell really has nothing to hide, why not simply agree to testify and tell the truth on the witness stand?

And what would Farrow have to gain by saying her (former?) friend received such a gift?

The more Taylor's lawyers and Campbell protest, the more evident it is that she left that South African party with a few more baubles than she had when she arrived.

It's sad that the possible involvement of a supermodel will be likely the only reason most Americans will be interested in this case, which involves one of the most significant war crime trials of a former head of state held in a generation.

During Taylor's reign, from 1997 to 2003, the people of neighboring Sierra Leone were victimized through murder, mutilations, rape and starvation by a rebel group widely believed to be under Taylor's command.

Sadly, in the three years Taylor's trial has dragged on, scant media coverage has been given by the American mainstream.

But you can expect that to change, especially if the pretty visage of Campbell gets drawn further into the controversy.

　



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