theGrio

Back to the Top

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Home
  • Entertainment
    • Music
    • The Dish
  • Health
    • Ask Dr. Ty
    • Black Men’s Health
    • Black Women and Breast Cancer
    • Back to School Health
  • Living
    • Travel and Leisure
    • Living Forward
    • Books
  • Politics
    • Perry on Politics
  • Sports
  • News
    • Good News
  • Opinion

Entertainment

Campbell called out on blood diamonds at war-crime trial

by theGrio | August 9, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Comments
Print

Related Posts

  • Campbell testifies on 'dirty' diamonds at Taylor trial
  • Campbell may testify in blood diamonds trial
  • Lawyers oppose Campbell diamond testimony
  • Ex-Liberian President Taylor convicted for Sierra Leone war crimes
  • Naomi Campbell, perfume firm settle NYC lawsuits

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) – Naomi Campbell flirted with Liberia’s former president across the dinner table at Nelson Mandela’s presidential mansion in 1997 and boasted the following morning that Charles Taylor had given her a huge diamond during the night, Mia Farrow and another witness testified at Taylor’s war crimes trial Monday.

Prosecutors hope testimony from the actress-turned-human rights activist and from Campbell’s estranged former modeling agent will help tie Taylor to the illicit “blood diamond” trade that fueled Sierra Leone’s civil war. Both contradicted Campbell’s account from the witness stand last week that she did not know the nature or value of what she had received.

The episode was a surreal interlude of glamour in a grim case focused on murder and mutilation in the jungles of West Africa.

Taylor says he is innocent of 11 war-crimes charges linked to allegations he supported rebels during Sierra Leone’s vicious 11-year civil war, which ended in 2002 with an estimated 100,000 dead.

He has dismissed suggestions he was involved in the diamond trade as “complete, complete nonsense.”

Farrow, however, recounted what she called the “unforgettable” memory of an excited Campbell coming down for breakfast the morning after Mandela’s dinner party, so excited she could hardly sit.

“She said ‘Oh my God, last night I was awakened by men knocking at the door and it was men sent by Charles Taylor and he sent me a huge diamond’,” Farrow said.

WATCH MIA FARROW CONTRADICT CAMPBELL’S TESTIMONY ON THE TODAY SHOW

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Campbell, who resisted appearing before the war-crimes court for months, testified under subpoena Thursday that she was given several small “dirty-looking” stones by men she didn’t know after the function in Pretoria.

The British model said she hadn’t known they were diamonds, nor who had sent them, and said Farrow was the one who suggested the gift was from Taylor.

Defense lawyers accused the prosecution of calling the unlikely witnesses as a publicity stunt to raise the profile of the trial, which has gone on for more than two years. Taylor himself was on the stand for seven months, portraying himself as an African liberator and statesman who sought to bring stability and peace to his turbulent corner of the continent.

Taylor’s chief counsel, Courtenay Griffiths, said Farrow was unlikely to accurately remember what happened at a breakfast 13 years ago. He noted that Campbell received three uncut diamonds – not the single diamond Farrow insisted she heard Campbell talk about.

The defense also suggested Farrow’s credibility was tainted by her activism, particularly her campaigns for the victims of Africa’s wars.

Farrow, 65, conceded she had never seen the diamond or diamonds herself, and that Campbell might not have used the word “huge.” But she insisted remembering Campbell only mentioned a single diamond.

South African businessman Jeremy Ractliffe, the former head of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, confirmed last week he had three stones he had received from Campbell to donate to charity after the 1997 dinner. He said he hadn’t done anything with them because he feared that a blood diamond scandal might attach to Mandela or Campbell as a result. He has now handed them over to South African authorities and they have been identified as uncut diamonds, but their origins are unknown.

In court, Judge Julia Sebutinde asked Farrow whether it was possible she might have seen the 2006 movie “Blood Diamond” and been influenced by its plot, which centers on a single large diamond.

But Farrow denied any suggestion that she was confusing reality with Hollywood.

Agent Carole White, who fell out with Campbell several years ago, told the court that Taylor and her then-client enjoyed each other’s company at the dinner table.

“I think she was flirting with him and he was flirting back,” she said.

At one point during the meal, White said, Campbell leaned back to speak to her. She “was very excited and she told me he was going to give her some diamonds,” White told the court.

She said Campbell later appeared disappointed when she saw the uncut diamonds and they were “not very impressive and not enormously big.”

But under cross examination, Griffiths strongly challenged White’s testimony.

“You have a very powerful motive for lying,” he said, noting that White is suing Campbell for millions of dollars over an alleged breach of contract.

Campbell has served community service twice after pleading guilty in minor assault cases. A few of her former aides and maids have sued her, accusing her of violent outbursts and usually settling on undisclosed terms.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

  • Best R&B Album: Another hard decision between some pretty evenly received albums. What hurts Monica and Raheem DeVaughn here are is the strength of the singles. Fantasia may have this one.
    Next Story:

    Fantasia: I'm not responsible for breaking up a marriage

  • slideshow-bonner-bros.jpg
    Previous Story:

    Slideshow: Creative cuts of Bronner Bros. Hair Show

Filed in: Entertainment, News, Top Stories, Video | Related Topics: Blood Diamonds, Charles Taylor, Liberia, Mia Farrow, Naomi Campbell, Sierra Leone, Trial, War Crimes
  • Learn about our User Panel

    Read More
  • New Stories on theGrio

    • Black anti-abortion pastors, activists speak on ‘House of Horrors’ case Black anti-abortion pastors, activists speak on ‘House of Horrors’ case
    • Malcolm X’s triumphs still trump the tragedies Malcolm X’s triumphs still trump the tragedies
    • Payday loans: a debt trap in disguise Payday loans: a debt trap in disguise
    • Beck’s rant: NAACP, ‘white lynching’ Beck’s rant: NAACP, ‘white lynching’
    • Black pastor vs Obama at Morehouse
    • Mourners remember Malcolm X’s grandson
    • The big irony in the IRS ‘scandal’
    • Natalie Cole blasts Candice-JHud duet
  • What Your Friends Are Reading

  • More from theGrio

More Stories on theGrio

Top News

Politics

  • Non-profit groups often look for tax breaks

    Democratic, liberal groups got IRS scrutiny too

  • No, Obama is not Nixon

  • Eric Holder grilled by House committee

  • Where was the outrage over IRS' NAACP audit?

» Read More in Politics

Business

  • Eve

    A timeless classic: Top career lessons from ‘The Great Gatsby’

  • Boyz II Men appear in new Old Navy commercial

  • An open letter to PepsiCo on the Mountain Dew ad

  • Unemployment falls to 7.5 percent

» Read More in Business

Living

  • Natalie Clarice

    'Find Me My Man' star Natalie Clarice: Her tips for finding love

  • Zoe Saldana goes naked for Allure

  • 'Be My Slave' photo shoot causes controversy

  • Cory Booker raises thousands at UNCF Mayor's Masked Ball

» Read More in Living

Inspiration

  • Identical twins Kirstie and Kristie Bronner (Photo courtesy of Bronner family)

    Twins named Spelman valedictorians

  • DC Central Kitchen helps people struggling to join workforce

  • Man refuses to let disability hamper ability to teach

  • 'Supermom' dedicates her life to foster kids

» Read More in Inspiration

Entertainment

  • Kerry Washington 1

    ‘Scandal’ vs. ‘American Idol’: Who will top the ratings?

  • The top 5 rap lyrics of the week

  • Lauryn Hill's last show before prison?

  • BET awards nominations announced

» Read More in Entertainment

News

  • Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, poses for photos with his father, Floyd Mayeather Sr. after defeating Robert Guerrero by unanimous decision in a WBC welterweight title fight, Saturday, May 4, 2013, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

    Floyd Mayweather Jr. top-earning American athlete in 2013

  • Kindergartner helps save dad’s life by knowing his ABCs

  • 20 charges filed in Mother's Day shooting

  • New take on pregnancy prevention

» Read More in News

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Politics
  • Living
  • Video
  • Inspire
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • News
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with TheGrio
  • About
©2013 NBCUniversal
Powered by WordPress.com VIP