Naomi Campbell’s history of flying off the handle is up for debate nearly two decades after she was involved in a chaotic exchange on a flight. A resurfaced 1998 clip of the fashion icon tussling with two passengers is circulating, leaving social media users divided on whether or not her actions were justified.
Video footage shows the supermodel irately standing as she traded barbs with a female seated passenger. At one point, she seems to make an effort to snatch a phone from the woman’s hands.
Additional footage shows Campbell as she reached in to pull a black cord from a white male leading to a short game of tug-a-war before the clip ends.
The Instagram user shared the footage with “Naomi Campbell going feral at plane passengers for taking a picture of her asleep while filming her documentary Naomi Conquers Africa,'” written over the top.
It’s unclear if that storyline is true. But what is, is that the clips were taken from a 1998 documentary titled, “Fashion Kingdom: Naomi Campbell in South Africa.” It followed her 1998 trip to South Africa to support Nelson Mandela’s charity fashion show to honor the passing of her friend Gianni Versace the year before.
In the comments on Instagram, several users said that the clip served as a reminder of her checkered pass of displaying unchecked rage. One person wrote, “Have the people not heard about Naomi?! She never been the one to play with.” Another said, “She is defending herself. No one has the right to take photos of you while you are unconscious.”
A third individual chimed in with, “She was not wrong. What was that Karen going to do with a video of Naomi sleeping. That’s creepy and an invasion.” While a fourth person’s comment read, “This is not the first time she’s assaulted ppl.. if you want privacy fly private.”
The London native has charted a course of violent outbursts dating back to the late 1990s.
In many of the instances, she was accused of beating and or throwing phones at employees and others. She has faced four convictions between 1998 and 2000 for such instances. She was found guilty of physically lashing out at a former assistant; a second assistant claimed she was attacked by the British beauty; and a third alleged she was held hostage and battered by a thrown phone.
Other occasions of Campbell’s alleged brutality include targeting her anger towards a housekeeper and yet another assistant who was reportedly punched by the model. In 2008, she was accused of assaulting officers at Heathrow Airport along with berating a British Airways pilot and staff over a luggage mixup.
She was escorted off the flight and subsequently faced a fine, ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, and hit with a reported lifetime ban from the airlines.
Campbell has owned up to the phone toss being a go-to attack of choice while also acknowledging other instances when she acted out. She was adamant that her poor behavior was not the product of not getting her way when she appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2010.
She told the host, “I am ashamed of everything I’ve done. I take responsibility for the things that I’ve done” and that her fits of rage were a culmination of fear and anger.
She also alluded to her actions being fed by a type of “emotional disorder,” disputing any claims that she is a volatile diva.
“I comes from, I think, an abandonment issue, and it comes from also just trying to build up a family around me that’s not my immediate family…If I feel a mistrust, then I really just—my cards go down,” “The Super Models” star explained.
good morning. here's 42 minutes of tyra gaslighting naomi. pic.twitter.com/GWL0WbyW1a
— DE'RON 🌞 (@deronworld) July 8, 2024
Campbell has been on the receiving end of backlash as multiple resurfaced clips and tales of her being fashion’s notorious mean girl have gained popularity this year. Kenyan influencer Elsa Majimbo claimed her former mentor blackballed her after they had a falling-out.
A past interview, such as one Campbell did with Tyra Banks in 2005, further perpetuated the claims of her being friend to few but a foe to many.
