Fashion icon Naomi Campbell’s past as an industry mean girl is resurfacing. The 53-year-old bombshell beauty is being dragged for an ugly history of demeaning peers she deemed a threat amid backlash for allegedly derailing Kenyan influencer Elsa Majimbo’s modeling career.
Resurfaced clips of Tyra Banks confronting her are now circulating on social media. They stem from a 2005 appearance she had on the former talk show “Tyra.” During their chat, Banks recalls them doing a boat photo shoot in the ’90s, where she admittedly suffered from seasickness and, at one point, laid down to rest between photo sessions.
“I think you put my head in your lap or you put my feet on your lap, and you were like, ‘Sweetie, are you OK?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m OK, I’m OK.’ And then you said, ‘I have to ask you something. ‘Do they try to make you look like me?’” recalled Banks.
The Inglewood native said she remembered the exchange because of how “new and young” she was in the world of modeling. “And I said, ‘Um, I don’t know about too much now, but in L.A., yeah, they really did,” she said while describing how she was made to wear similar hairstyles as the runway star.
Campbell began modeling in the late 1980s, and Banks in 1990. By the time her younger peer became a hot commodity, the British starlet was among the industry’s elites. “You told me that, yeah, I remember,” replied Campbell with a smile. But her face quickly turned as the host said, “Naomi, you got up and pushed me away and said, ‘Thought so.’ You turned,” with the snap of a finger. Campbell seemed bewildered, asking, “I did?”
Basically this was Tyra bringing Naomi on her show to do exactly what Elsa Majimbo did on her tiktok… sharing how she experienced Naomi when she was younger and how naomi made her feel , and showing how much power Naomi has pic.twitter.com/hmEOoNCBnL
— Mirth O. Molefe (@mirthdot) February 20, 2024
“You went from the sweetest woman that was giving me vitamins to someone that terrified me on that trip. And I was told on that trip that I was sent home because you didn’t want me there anymore,” said the Harvard Business School alumna. “No, that is not true. I don’t have the power of Anna Wintour,” quipped Campbell in her defense.
The conversation continues with the “Life Size” actress rehashing how she was subsequently treated coldly by her peer, being told “You’ll never be me,” and being removed from a show because of Campbell’s disapproval despite the model denying the claims. The tension nearly provoked Banks to give up her career. After a commercial break, Campbell apologized for the pain the former Victoria’s Secret model endured.
“Nah, Naomi Campbell is guilty of everything Elsa accused her of,” commented an X user, linking Banks’ experience with that of Majimbo. Another user also viewed the exchange as proof that “Basically this was Tyra bringing Naomi on her show to do exactly what Elsa Majimbo did on her tiktok… sharing how she experienced Naomi when she was younger and how naomi made her feel , and showing how much power Naomi has.”
Banks reflected on the tense exchanges she had with Campbell when she guest appeared on “Skavlan,” a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show, in 2016. “It wasn’t fair to Naomi, but her response was … to this day, I’m very scared of her. It was very difficult — like some of my lowest times of my life — dealing with that.”
And in 2019, she addressed the bad blood again in a Wall Street Journal interview. “As much as I was booking every single fashion show, people didn’t know I was going home at night crying my eyes out because a woman I was looking up to seemed like she just didn’t want me to be there,” Banks said.
“And was doing everything in her power to make me go away.” In hindsight, the “America’s Next Top Model” creator said that Campbell’s actions were not condoned, but she understood that behind the scenes industry figures were pitting them against each other and especially trying to make the supermodel feel as though her time as the it girl was dwindling down.
Elsa Majimbo Narrates experience with Naomi Campbell pic.twitter.com/9SwaWu61dE
— BlacVolta (@BlacVolta) February 18, 2024
In a recent since-deleted TikTok, Majimbo accused her former mentor of bullying, sabotaging her modeling opportunities, controlling her career. The influencer claimed she suffered from depression and heavy drinking when Campbell allegedly blackballed her after feeling slighted by the 22-year-old’s notoriety without her.
After speaking out about the severed friendship, Majimbo claimed she faced threats that her text messages about her past issues with white executives who wished to sleep with her would be exposed by “The Super Models” star.
