Naomi Campbell Feared for Her Life over Blood Diamond Testimony

Naomi Campbell for GQIn 2010, Naomi Campbell faced a fair amount of scrutiny after she initially refused to testify in the war crimes tribunal against former Liberian president Charles Taylor. The supermodel had, according to actress Mia Farrow, received a large, uncut diamond as a gift from the warlord—an incident Campbell denied when she eventually gave her testimony.

In a new interview with British GQ (via Vogue UK), Campbell spoke frankly about the experience, insisting, "I was afraid for my own life and I was afraid for the life of my family."

"If you hear someone has killed thousands of people—of course I was afraid! One more person is not going to make a difference. People forgot that I was a witness and thought I was a defendant," Campbell said.

But Naomi didn't let the negative press get to her. "They tried to affect my work. They said the fashion industry shouldn't use me. But what had I done wrong? They don't want to hear about that good person. They want that controversy. It's just business. Scandal is what sells."