Naomi Campbell Admits Guilt, Will Do Community Service

The 36-year-old supermodel pleaded guilty in the Manhattan Criminal Court. “During the morning of March 30, 2006, I threw a cellphone in the apartment. The cell phone hit Ana. That was an accident because I did not intend to hit her,” she told the judge. “I am advised that Ana was hurt, and I am sorry about that.”

What apparently ignited Naomi’s anger was her employee’s carelessness - Ana Scolavino had lost a pair of designer jeans that Naomi wanted to wear on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Her attack on Ana caused her employer some serious injuries, as she required four stitches in her head.

Judge Robert Mandelbaum has asked that the supermodel spend two days in an anger management program and pay $363.32 (£185) to reimburse medical expenses incurred by Ms Scolavino.

The judge was kind in recommending that Naomi serve her sentence indoors. This will prevent embarrassment similar to that suffered by singer Boy George, who swept the streets in order to settle drug charges in New York – and was accompanied by the media while doing it.

The whole hubbub started in March 2006, when Naomi was arrested for hitting her personal assistant with a cell phone in the head. Ana Scolavino has claimed that Naomi hit her in the back of the head with a jewel-encrusted cell phone in her Manhattan apartment, causing an injury that required stitches.

The supermodel was charged with second-degree assault, which usually results in a sentence of 1 to 7 years of prison. Because Naomi was absent from the court room in September 2006, the judge ruled that her next absence would ensue imprisonment.

In October Naomi was once again arrested, this time in London, on suspicion of assault, but she was released on police bail.

When she appeared in court in December, her lawyer, David Breitbart, stated that his client was hoping for an agreement to carry out community service, but with one condition: no company from the media while busy at work. He added: "She believes God is on her side and is going to take care of her."

The British supermodel has antecedents with physical assault against employees. In 2000, she pleaded guilty in a Toronto court to a 1998 assault on Georgina Galanis, her then assistant. The supermodel had struck her assistant with a telephone in a hotel room and threatened to throw her out of a moving car.

In 2005, she allegedly slapped assistant Amanda Brack and repeatedly hit her head with a BlackBerry handheld personal organizer. Another documented case is that of Italian actress Yvonne Scio, who has claimed, “She punched me in the face. She was like Mike Tyson.”

Naomi has been quoted by the Daily Mail, confessing how difficult it has been to have the spotlight on her allegedly short temper: “It's been really a tough year in terms of accusations and stuff like that. It's been very hurtful and blown out of proportion.”

"I've had to learn from my mistakes but I don't harbor grudges. I'm a human like everybody else. I just want to have my health every day and my family's health.”

It remains to be seen how Naomi will deal with her recent punishment. ===========================
Shannon's Editorial

Employers don't get to brutalize their employees, publicly or domestically.
Maybe Naomi and other spoiled stars will realize that just because someone is on their payroll, it doesn't mean that someone is their property to use and abuse as the star sees fit.

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