She has set the fur flying with her diva-like behaviour in the past, but now fiery supermodel Naomi Campbell has infuriated her fans by appearing to promote fur products.
The 44-year-old former spokeswoman for animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) made the faux pas while showing off her Christmas gifts from Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, who designed Kim Kardashian’s wedding dress.
“Thank you for my gorgeous Riccardo Tisci Xmas present,” Naomi wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of Givenchy carrier bags, one of which was filled with what appeared to be real fur, and a £1,795 (Dh10,277) snake print handbag.
A spokesman for Givenchy refuses to confirm whether the fur is real.
This month French magazine Madame Figaro released a spread with Naomi posing in a Givenchy coat trimmed with fox and mink. A spokesman for the model tells me: “She’s unavailable for comment.”
Campbell’s controversial gift comes 20 years after her infamous campaign for Peta, in which she posed naked with four other models under a banner saying: “We’d rather go naked than wear fur.” A number of Campbell’s 1.1 million Instagram followers promptly ‘unfollowed’ her on Monday, with others calling her “cruel” and “disgusting”.
“My admiration for Naomi just died,’ wrote stylist Hannah Goode. “This is so unnecessary. Especially when you’re a public figure you should convince people that fur is an absolute no-go!!!”
It’s not the first time Naomi’s been criticised for endorsing fur. In 2009, she was accused of hypocrisy after fronting a campaign for luxury furrier Dennis Basso. Nor is it the first time a present has landed her in trouble: she admitted, during a war-crimes tribunal in 2010, to accepting blood diamonds from an African dictator.
By coincidence Bob Geldof’s daughter Fifi is also under fire for accepting a fur freebie this Christmas. She published a photo of a £270 raccoon collar with the caption: “Thank you for my beautiful collar The Soho Furrier — can’t wait to wear this,” before being inundated with disapproving comments.
Fifi, who lost her younger sister Peaches to a heroin overdose this year, soon deleted the photograph, explaining: “Just can’t be bothered with negativity. This particular Xmas is hard enough already without more of the stressful stuff.”
