Witness: Naomi Flirted With Blood Diamond Strongman

Ex-agent says model knew who diamonds came from
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 10, 2010 4:17 AM CDT
Witness: Naomi Flirted With Blood Diamond Strongman
Carole White, the former agent of model Naomi Campbell, left, is sworn in at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.   (AP Photo/Robert Vos, Pool)

Naomi Campbell's former agent has testified that the model was fully aware that diamonds she was given in South Africa were a gift from Liberian strongman Charles Taylor. Campbell was flirting with Taylor at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela and Taylor was flirting back, Carole White told Taylor's war crimes trial, the Telegraph reports. "Naomi was very excited and told me: 'He's going to give me some diamonds,'" White said.

Mia Farrow gave similar testimony yesterday, contradicting Campbell's claim that she had no idea who gave her the diamonds. A defense lawyer for Taylor, who is accused of dealing in "blood diamonds" to finance rebels in Sierra Leone, accused White of lying. The lawyer pointed out that White, Campbell's main agent for 17 years, is suing Campbell for breach of contract and accused her of seeking to tarnish Campbell's name to gain ammunition for the civil suit.
(More Naomi Campbell stories.)

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