London - Her reputation has been tarnished by a series of violent tantrums, often involving her staff and mobile phones.
Now supermodel Naomi Campbell has become embroiled in yet another altercation involving a mobile – this time with a public relations ‘minder’.
The latest incident, which follows Ms Campbell’s previous convictions for assault, is said to have left the employee by PR company Bell Pottinger with a bruised face, who, ironically, had been employed by the company to improve the model’s public image.
The firm was founded by Lady Thatcher’s spin doctor, Lord Bell, who once described Ms Campbell as ‘the most unpleasant fashion model in the world’.
Ms Campbell, 46, and her alleged victim worked closely together in London late last year, but things turned sour when he turned up at her apartment in a five-star New York hotel shortly before Christmas, while the model was recovering from a foot operation. She suspected the publicist of tipping off the paparazzi about her movements, and the pair are said to have grappled furiously as she wrested the phone away from him as he sent a text.
Insiders at Bell Pottinger yesterday indicated that the young consultant may have got ‘too close’ to their client. They say he had been taken off Ms Campbell’s account before the altercation, and that he was on holiday when he visited the supermodel in Manhattan.
A source close to her said: ‘At the time, Naomi had had an operation and was in a wheelchair or on crutches, and the photographers seemed to know where she’d be.
‘She wanted to get the phone off the PR man because he was texting in her presence and she grabbed it.’
Admitting there was a ‘struggle’, the source added: ‘There was no fight as such and she has absolutely no idea how he got a bruised face.’
However, the source close to Ms Campbell said: ‘She doesn’t recognise his account of events at all.
‘She does regret snatching the mobile phone because she was a bit paranoid about being followed by paparazzi, but she has no idea about him receiving any injuries.’
Ms Campbell has a long history of assaults, with four court rulings against her – among several similar allegations.
Ms Campbell has dated a string of stars including Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and U2 bass guitarist Adam Clayton.
In the past she has been admitted struggling with addictions to cocaine and alcohol, and has a reputation for arriving sometimes hours late at photographic shoots.
CAMPBELL’S CONVICTIONS: HER RAP SHEET FOR ASSAULT
2000 - she admitted assaulting personal assistant Georgina Galanis with a mobile phone in Toronto two years earlier. Galanis also claimed the model threatened to throw her out of a moving car.
2007 - Naomi admitted assaulting her former housekeeper Ana Scolavino in New York. The model threw a BlackBerry at her because she couldn’t find her jeans.
2008 - she admitted kicking and spitting at two police officers following an argument about her lost luggage at Heathrow Airport. British Airways also banned her for life.
2015 - a Sicilian court found her guilty of hitting photographer Gaetano Di Giovanni with her handbag in 2009.
Mail On Sunday