She may have become famous for walking quietly down the catwalk and posing silently on the covers of Vogue, but Naomi Campbell is also known for speaking her mind. A famously short-tempered mind, at that. While some of her vocalizations have received strong support, including her recent campaign encouraging diversity and ending racism on the runway, others have been more controversial. During a recent interview with a radio station, Campbell shared her beliefs that the fashion industry is not responsible for women's desires for being thin.
You cannot blame our industry for the body type of women. The food issue is a really sensitive subject for me, and it makes me nervous to really talk about it because I've never seen a designer in my whole 28 years say to someone, 'Go on a diet, lose weight.'
Okay, so they don't ask you to shed pounds, but Campbell has once admitted that they won't feed you, either. Jourdan Dunn recently told Vogue that Campbell advised her to bring snacks to her photo shoots because they often forget to feed the models. And it has nothing to do with the fact that they want them to be thin. *Eye rolls*
Although we completely believe that Campbell has never been asked to lose weight, it's also likely due to the fact that she is genetically blessed and, as a result, cannot really understand what the the average woman has to deal with when it comes to body image and weight. In 1999, Campbell told Playboy, "I never diet. I smoke. I drink now and then. I never work out."
Of course, if you were born with Campbell's supermodel bod and were one of those girls who could eat anything she wanted without having to exercise, then how could you understand the unrealistic standards set by the fashion industry? But Campbell disregards any of that and really believes that a woman's desire to be thin is her own fault and no one else's.
You have to be responsible for your own actions. So if you decide you don't want to eat because you feel like you have to be like this, that's all up to you.
Campbell would later reveal her periodic dieting practices to Oprah in 2010, citing 18 day juice cleanses (made of Maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and water) as her main method of staying slim. Also, she considers carbs a treat.
But the fashion industry didn't make her this way, you guys. Naomi Campbell is completely unaffected by it all.
