Naomi Campbell is led out of Midtown North police
precinct in New York, Thursday, March 30, 2006. Another maid is suing Campbell,
claiming the supermodel hit her. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
Naomi Campbell is being accused of less-than-model behavior again, this time
by another of her maids who claims the supermodel hit her.
In a terse single-sheet filing in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, Gaby
Gibson accused Campbell of "personal injuries," "employment discrimination,"
"civil assault," "civil battery" and other complaints.
Gibson, who filed the lawsuit on Monday, the eve of a Manhattan Criminal
Court appearance by Campbell on charges of assaulting another maid, asks for
"actual, compensatory and punitive" damages without specifying an amount.
The court document does not detail acts by Campbell, but in a published
interview in April, Gibson said the catwalker hit her on Jan. 17, called her
names and threatened to have her arrested. Gibson told the New York Post that
Campbell got upset after being unable to find a specific pair of jeans.
Gibson's lawyer, Thomas D. Shanahan, did not immediately return calls for
comment.
Campbell is due in court Tuesday on a similar charge that stemmed from a
similar situation - the supermodel couldn't find a pair of jeans.
In that incident, Campbell is charged with assault for allegedly hitting Ana
Scolavino in the back of the head with a cell phone in the model's Manhattan
apartment. Campbell allegedly accused Scolavino of stealing the missing jeans.
A British citizen, Campbell faces up to seven years in prison and deportation
if convicted on that charge.
That incident is not the first time Campbell, 35, was accused of using a
phone in a violent way. In 2003, the supermodel was sued by a former assistant
who said Campbell threw a phone at her during a tantrum two years earlier.
In August 2004, in the same apartment, Campbell and yet another maid battled
it out, with the worker claiming the supermodel slapped her across the face.
Campbell accused maid Millicent Burton of instigating the fight.
Campbell pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating another
assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998.
Neither Campbell's lawyer nor her publicist responded immediately to requests
for comment.
Campbell was discovered at age 15 and launched a career that landed her in
magazines worldwide - including the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Campbell's high-profile lifestyle has included appearances in music videos by
George Michael and Jay-Z and a close friendship with Nelson
Mandela.
