Super Model Gets 'Hit' With Super Chores

Mom always said if I used foul language she'd wash my mouth out with a bar of soap (and grandma nearly did one time) so I guess it's fitting that when you hit another person that hasn't provoked you the city of New York makes you mop its floors. According to Reuters:

"British beauty Naomi Campbell will swap her catwalk outfits for a broom, gloves and safety vest when she begins mopping floors at New York's Sanitation Department on March 19, a court official confirmed Tuesday.

Campbell, who was sentenced to community service as punishment for throwing her mobile phone at her housekeeper, will serve her five-day sentence indoors."

One time I had to mop my high school's floors and clean graffiti-filled walls for 4 hours (on a Saturday morning!) for skipping school. But Campbell has been accused by at least three employees of hitting or otherwise assaulting them. She blames her temper on "lingering resentment toward her father for abandoning her as a child."

I just can't figure a way for her publicists to spin this other than getting her to be a spokesperson for a tricked-out, bejeweled cellphone that is "just too fabulous to throw at anyone". Or perhaps she should support an anti-Deadbeat Dad charity as a more productive, passionate vehicle for her anger. Thoughts?

Uh, Naomi, when you're finished with the Sanitation Department, just head uptown a few blocks as my hardwood floors could use a polishing...just leave your cellphone at home, ok?

Comments

[Cam Beck]

Man... I got my mouth washed out with soap for talking back to my parents. You got a free pass for foul language?! ;)

The first rule we're supposed to follow when we find ourselves in a hole is to quit digging. So my first piece of advice to Naomi would be to stop hitting people. That's the easy part.

I really can't imagine the difficulties celebrities face on a day-to-day basis. Frankly, I don't care much, either, because it doesn't excuse treating people the way she apparently does. I also don't know what it would be like if my father abandoned me as a child. And while I might have compassion for someone whose father did abandon her, I don't believe that excuses treating people poorly, either.

Being a mean person just can't be brushed over with clever PR. I think fame can open a lot of doors, but it also closes a bunch, too. Naomi could use some frank advice from people who have her best interests at heart, but whom she is also confident she can trust. Being famous and rich, I imagine, can cause one to believe that people are motivated by objects other than love, which can make it difficult to trust. Therefore, a lot of good advice can not only be hard to come by, but hard to believe.

However, I would say that unconditionally dedicating herself to a few worthy and underserved causes would not only help her image, but also her character. Seeing the appreciation of people whose only idea of her is that she is helping them with a problem can be rewarding, and it can make her more appreciative of the emotions and gestures that are more basic and genuine than she would ordinarily get as a celebrity.

[Gavin Heaton]

Ha! I reckon you could take her ... mobile or no mobile.

Cam has a great point -- linking image with character -- going beyond the appearance of caring and substituting it with an authentic expression of self (or selflessness).

[vaspers the grate]

Ivory Soap takes forever to brush off your teeth. I can still taste that nasty crap. I got that punishment regularly as a kid.

Naomi should be made to mop the floors with her celebrity hair.

End of Stardom, Rise of Everyone

I am still freaking out over getting "The Origin of Brands" by Al and Laura Ries in the mail. The book is almost like holy writ to me.