LONDON: Former supermodel Naomi Campbell has been disqualified from running a charity for five years following an inquiry into her organization, Fashion for Relief.
The UK Charity Commission’s investigation, released on Thursday, uncovered “multiple instances of misconduct,” including the misuse of charity funds for personal expenses such as spa treatments and room service, as well as a five-star hotel stay for Campbell in the south of France.
Between April 2016 and July 2022, only 8.5 percent of Fashion for Relief’s total expenditures were allocated to grants for charities. In addition to Campbell, two other trustees also received bans.
Campbell, who became the first black model to grace the cover of UK Vogue in 1987 and gained global fame in the 1990s, remains a prominent figure in the fashion industry. An exhibition dedicated to her recently opened at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
In Paris on Thursday, after receiving an honor from the French government, Campbell denied responsibility for the mishandling of donations. “I was not in control of my charity; I put the control in the hands of a lawyer,” she told reporters after being named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. She added that she is “investigating to find out what and how,” emphasizing that “everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes towards charities.”
