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Naomi Campbell Recalls Being Shocked by Racism During Early Modeling Days on September 18, 2023 at 11:00 am Us Weekly

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Naomi Campbell’s road to success was paved with obstacles — due in part to the color of her skin. 

The 53-year-old catwalk queen opened up about the dark side of her triumphant fashion career during episode 1 and 2 of the new Apple TV+ documentary The Super Models, which explores her rise to prominence alongside fellow models Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford — who also share their stories from the ‘80s and ‘90s. 

Campbell, who grew up in an Afro-Jamaican household in the U.K., recalled experiencing racism early on, but said it didn’t affect her as much until she moved to the U.S. to pursue modeling. 

When she was five years old, Campbell was called the N-word in elementary school. “I wasn’t going to accept being bullied at school for the color of my skin,” Campbell explained. “My mother was paying my school fees just like everybody else. I had every right to be there, so take your bullying somewhere else, is how I felt.” 

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Naomi Campbell wears a dress by Yves Saint Laurent at his autumn-winter 1987-1988 fashion show in Paris. Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

Things changed, however, when Campbell moved to New York. “At the time, modeling was kind of looked down on in my family. My mother had no idea I was doing any of it,” she shared.

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Related: Naomi Campbell’s Hottest Runway Moments of All Time

Happy Birthday, Naomi Campbell! The OG supermodel turns 49 on Wednesday, May 22, and we’re celebrating by paying homage to her illustrious career. The catwalk queen has been strutting her stuff on runways around the world for some three decades now, and, as you can imagine, there have been some pretty iconic moments along the […]

Despite her mother’s apprehensiveness, Campbell pushed forward. She said her mother warned her about racism in America as well as prejudices in the south. 

“I started to understand culturally that I was going to have to work really hard to feel accepted,” Campbell recalled. “There was no way I could go back home with my tail between my legs … I was going to go harder and further.” 

Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington on May 31, 1992 in London. Dave Benett/Getty Images

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Still it wasn’t easy, and adjusting to life in a new place, as a Black woman made things difficult. “I would put my hands out many times on New York City streets, and the taxis would fly by,” Campbell shared. “Then Christy would put out the hand and they would stop. The guy would be like, ‘I don’t want to go to Brooklyn,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to Brooklyn.’ I was just like, why is he saying that? It didn’t strike me until, you know, Christy would have to stand out in front of me, get me a taxi to get it to work.” 

Campbell and Turlington, now 54, went on to live together and the two created a strong bond. Campbell shared that Turlington and Evangelista, now 58 — who she fondly referred to as her “sisters” — advocated for her when she was met with discrimination.

Naomi Campbell modeling a striped body suit circa 1990. Michel Arnaud/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

 “Naomi wasn’t always booked to do the shows,” Evangelista shared. “I didn’t understand. Naomi, I thought, was more beautiful, had a much more rocking body than I did and a better strut. [I was] like, ‘Why aren’t they booking her?’ I said to them, ‘If you don’t book her, you don’t get me.’”

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Campbell praised Evangelista’s support, sharing that Evangelista and Turlington “absolutely put themselves on the line for [me],” which she said kept her going on the hardest days. 

Related: The Best and Boldest Fashion Moments From Vogue World: London 2023

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London Fashion Week kicked off in the U.K. on a star-studded note thanks to Vogue World. Following last year’s inaugural showcase during New York Fashion Week, the second edition of the celebration took place on Thursday, September 14, at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, bringing out the biggest names in style and beyond. The event celebrated […]

While Campbell experienced a number of setbacks, she has since become one of the most influential models in the world. She was the first Black model to ever cover Vogue France in August 1988 and the first Black model to open a Prada show in 1997. She’s starred in numerous beauty campaigns and can still be found on a runway today. 

Naomi Campbell’s road to success was paved with obstacles — due in part to the color of her skin.  The 53-year-old catwalk queen opened up about the dark side of her triumphant fashion career during episode 1 and 2 of the new Apple TV+ documentary The Super Models, which explores her rise to prominence alongside 

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What We Can Learn Inside 50 Cent’s Explosive Diddy Documentary: 5 Reasons You Should Watch

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50 Cent’s new Netflix docuseries about Sean “Diddy” Combs is more than a headline-grabbing exposé; it is a meticulous breakdown of how power, celebrity, and silence can collide in the entertainment industry.

Across its episodes, the series traces Diddy’s rise, the allegations that followed him for years, and the shocking footage and testimonies now forcing a wider cultural reckoning.

For viewers, it offers not just drama, but lessons about media literacy, accountability, and how society treats survivors when a superstar is involved.

Rapper 50 Cent pictured in Tup Tup Palace night club with owners James Jukes and Matt LoveDough, Newcastle, UK, 7th November 2015

1. It Chronicles Diddy’s Rise and Fall – And How Power Warps Reality

The docuseries follows Combs from hitmaker and business icon to a figure facing serious criminal conviction and public disgrace, mapping out decades of influence, branding, and behind-the-scenes behavior. Watching that arc shows how money, fame, and industry relationships can shield someone from scrutiny and delay accountability, even as disturbing accusations accumulate.

Rapper 50 Cent pictured in Tup Tup Palace night club with owners James Jukes and Matt LoveDough, Newcastle, UK, 7th November 2015

2. Never-Before-Seen Footage Shows How Narratives Are Managed

Exclusive footage of Diddy in private settings and in the tense days around his legal troubles reveals how carefully celebrity narratives are shaped, even in crisis.

Viewers can learn to question polished statements and recognize that what looks spontaneous in public is often the result of strategy, damage control, and legal calculation.

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3. Survivors’ Stories Highlight Patterns of Abuse and Silence

Interviews with alleged victims, former staff, and industry insiders describe patterns of control, fear, and emotional or physical harm that were long whispered about but rarely aired in this detail. Their stories underline how difficult it is to speak out against a powerful figure, teaching viewers why many survivors delay disclosure and why consistent patterns across multiple accounts matter.

4. 50 Cent’s Approach Shows Storytelling as a Tool for Accountability

As executive producer, 50 Cent uses his reputation and platform to push a project that leans into uncomfortable truths rather than protecting industry relationships. The series demonstrates how documentary storytelling can challenge established power structures, elevate marginalized voices, and pressure institutions to respond when traditional systems have failed.

5. The Cultural Backlash Reveals How Society Handles Celebrity Accountability

Reactions to the doc—ranging from people calling it necessary and brave to others dismissing it as a vendetta or smear campaign—expose how emotionally invested audiences can be in defending or condemning a famous figure. Watching that debate unfold helps viewers see how fandom, nostalgia, and bias influence who is believed, and why conversations about “cancel culture” often mask deeper questions about justice and who is considered too powerful to fall.

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South Park’s Christmas Episode Delivers the Antichrist

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A new Christmas-themed episode of South Park is scheduled to air with a central plot in which Satan is depicted as preparing for the birth of an Antichrist figure. The premise extends a season-long narrative arc that has involved Satan, Donald Trump, and apocalyptic rhetoric, positioning this holiday episode as a culmination of those storylines rather than a stand‑alone concept.

Episode premise and season context

According to published synopses and entertainment coverage, the episode frames the Antichrist as part of a fictional storyline that blends religious symbolism with commentary on politics, media, and cultural fear. This follows earlier Season 28 episodes that introduced ideas about Trump fathering an Antichrist child and tech billionaire Peter Thiel obsessing over prophecy and end‑times narratives. The Christmas setting is presented as a contrast to the darker themes, reflecting the series’ pattern of pairing holiday imagery with controversial subject matter.

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Public and political reactions

Coverage notes that some figures connected to Donald Trump’s political orbit have criticized the season’s portrayal of Trump and his allies, describing the show as relying on shock tactics rather than substantive critique. Commentators highlight that these objections are directed more at the depiction of real political figures and the show’s tone than at the specific theology of the Antichrist storyline.

At the time of reporting, there have not been widely reported, detailed statements from major religious leaders focused solely on this Christmas episode, though religion-focused criticism of South Park in general has a long history.

Media and cultural commentary

Entertainment outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Forbes, Slate, and USA Today describe the Antichrist arc as part of South Park’s ongoing use of Trump-era and tech-world politics as material for satire.

These reports emphasize that the show’s treatment of the Antichrist, Satan, and prophecy is designed as exaggerated commentary rather than doctrinal argument, while also acknowledging that many viewers may see the storyline as offensive or excessive.

Viewer guidance and content advisory

South Park is rated TV‑MA and is intended for adult audiences due to strong language, explicit themes, and frequent use of religious and political satire. Viewers who are sensitive to depictions of Satan, the Antichrist, or parodies involving real political figures may find this episode particularly objectionable, while others may view it as consistent with the show’s long‑running approach to controversial topics. As with previous episodes, individual responses are likely to vary widely, and the episode is best understood as part of an ongoing satirical series rather than a factual or theological statement.

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Sydney Sweeney Finally Confronts the Plastic Surgery Rumors

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Sydney Sweeney has decided she is finished watching strangers on the internet treat her face like a forensic project. After years of side‑by‑side screenshots, “then vs now” TikToks, and long comment threads wondering what work she has supposedly had done, the actor is now addressing the plastic surgery rumors directly—and using them to say something larger about how women are looked at in Hollywood and online.

Sweeney at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival red carpet premiere of Christy

Growing Up on Camera vs. “Before and After” Culture

Sweeney points out that people are often mistaking normal changes for procedures: she grew up on camera, her roles now come with big‑budget glam teams, and her body has shifted as she has trained, aged, and worked nonstop. Yet every new red‑carpet photo gets folded into a narrative that assumes surgeons, not time, are responsible. Rather than walking through a checklist of what is “real,” she emphasizes how bizarre it is that internet detectives comb through pores, noses, and jawlines as if they are owed an explanation for every contour of a woman’s face.

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The Real Problem Isn’t Her Face

By speaking up, Sweeney is redirecting the conversation away from her features and toward the culture that obsesses over them.

She argues that the real issue isn’t whether an actress has had work done, but why audiences feel so entitled to dissect her body as public property in the first place.

For her, the constant speculation is less about curiosity and more about control—another way to tell women what they should look like and punish them when they do not fit. In calling out that dynamic, Sweeney isn’t just defending herself; she is forcing fans and followers to ask why tearing apart someone else’s appearance has become such a popular form of entertainment.


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