Naomi Campbell Sues Paper For Privacy Invasion
— -- Supermodel Naomi Campbell is suing the tabloid The Daily Mirror for invasion of privacy for printing a picture of her leaving a Narocitcs Anonymous meeting with a headline that read 'Naomi: I am Drug Addict.'
Far from the flash of fashion photographers, one of the world's most familiar faces can these days be found in a London courtroom. Supermodel Naomi Campbell is suing a British tabloid for, of all things, publishing her picture. But where that picture was taken and what it says about Campbell is at the center of this suit.
The model — known for her fiery temperament — is suing the the London Daily Mirror for invasion of privacy. A photographer from the paper photogtraphed Campbell last year as she left a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in London.
Campbell had been quietly, and anonymously, attending group meetings for a year. The whole point of her treatment is the anonymity, and the public exposure of her drug habit put her recovery at risk, she claims. Friends feared that the publicity would push Campbell over the edge.
But British public relations guru Max Clifford says that celebrities can't pick and choose when they get media attention.
"I do think that when a celebrity uses the media, manipulates the media, with the help of PR people, lawyers etc, for their benefit and the benefits of their careers, then they can't complain too much when the media uses them," Clifford said.
Campbell insists there is a line STAND UP: CAMPBELL INSISTS THERE IS A LINE ? THIS WEEK SHE TOLD A LONDON COURT HERE AT THE JUSTICE BUILDING SHE WAS VIOLATED WHEN THE MIRROR DETAILED HER TORMENTING BATTLE WITH ADDICTION.
UNDER INTENSE CROSS-EXAMINATION ? SHE WAS DEFIANT, THEN TEARY, AS the newspaper's LAWYERS ATTACKED. THEY ACCUSED HER OF DECEIVING THE PUBLIC, FORCING HER TO ADMIT SHE'D USED DRUGS FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN THE LATE NINETIES.
[I assume this next bit is the graphic; I'd put the underlined on the graphic, speaking the rest]
THE newspaper LAWYERS ASKED: IT MUST SURELY HAVE AFFECTED YOUR BEHAVIOR?.YES, SAID CAMPBELL
WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SAY YOUR BEHAVIOR IS NOTORIOUS?YES, SHE SAID.
THEY CALLED HER MANIPULATIVE ? TRYING TO CONTROL THE PRESS WHEN IT SUITS HER INTEREST.
SOT: It's a groundbreaking case.
BRITISH MEDIA LAWYER PAUL GILBERT SAYS THE CASE COULD CHANGE BRITISH LAW.
SOT: no right privacy ? could potentially change etc, etc.
BACKGROUND:
Model Naomi Campbell, who's suing a tabloid newspaper that printed a picture of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, admitted in court Monday that she had illegally used drugs. Campbell says the Mirror newspaper invaded her privacy and breached her confidence when it published the photo last year alongside an article describing how she had sought counseling for a drug problem. The London-born supermodel said in court that she'd used illegal drugs, and had sought treatment.
She said she felt "shocked, angry, betrayed and violated" by the article, headlined: "Naomi: I am a drug addict."
Campbell's lawyer, Andrew Caldecott, said the 31-year-old model had attended meetings of Narcotics Anonymous, often on a daily basis. On the day the photo was taken - Jan. 30, 2001 - she had attended three.
He said her attendance "was a clearly private activity deserving of privacy."
The newspaper's publisher, MGN Limited, denies wrongdoing.
The Mirror's lawyer, Desmond Browne, said the newspaper only revealed the truth about Campbell's drug use, which she had denied publicly.
"To the world at large, Miss Campbell sacrificed her right to anonymity by using illegal drugs and claiming she was drug free," he said.
The case at London's High Court is expected to last five days.
The Daily Mirror, she said, had left her feeling "shocked, angry, betrayed and violated" by allegedly obtaining details of her plans to attend two Narcotics Anonymous classes to help overcome a long-standing drug addiction.The paper published a story on 1 February 2001, headlined "Naomi: I am a drug addict", after a photographer took pictures of her leaving a meeting in the King's Road, Chelsea, and a reporter attended a second session in a bookshop in Fulham to obtain quotes from the model about her addiction.
Mr Justice Morland heard claims that the model had used her media profile to promote business ventures from the disastrous Fashion Cafe restaurant chain to a perfume, and given conflicting accounts of the Canary Islands incident, which she told the court was an allergic reaction to penicillin.Mr Browne said that by courting publicity, Ms Campbell had laid herself open to legitimate exposure, and the Mirror's publication of her treatment at Narcotics Anonymous had only been the most "trivial and banal" aspect of its story.
He said: "It is about whether there is a right for celebrities to manipulate their public image to their own benefit."
Lawyers for Ms Campbell countered by alleging that the Daily Mirror had been leaked details of the model's diary for 30 January 2001 by a member of NA staff or one of her own assistants.
Andrew Caldecott QC, for Ms Campbell, accused Mr Morgan of concealing the truth when he told the model's London agent, Carole White, that a reporter had chanced upon the model and followed her to the NA meeting, and then changed his story to claim that the paper had been tipped off.