Naomi Campbell Regrets ‘Not Speaking Out More’ On Racism In The Early Days Of Her Career

Naomi Campbell Regrets ‘Not Speaking Out More’ On Racism In The Early Days Of Her Career

Iconic model Naomi Campbell, the timeless beauty and slayer of fashions, recently opened up about racism in the fashion industry.

During a candid sit-down with fashion designer, Marc Jacobs for Interview magazine, Naomi Campell revealed instances of being stereotyped because of her race.

Naomi Campbell’s career has spanned more than 30 years after being discovered by a model scout in London’s Covent Garden. She’s graced the covers of more than 500 publications and has landed campaigns with Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Prada, just to name a few. Although Campbell took the fashion industry by storm, it was not without hurdles to jump and hills to climb.

The London native of Afro-Jamaican descent admitted she refused to wear clothing that was “stereotypical” of her heritage and refused jobs that paid her less than her white counterparts.

“There were a couple of times back in the day in Europe when I had to say: No, I’m not going to wear this outfit because it was very stereotypical. I’m not going to go on the runway looking like a Rastafarian.”

Naomi Campbell added that she missed out on magazine covers because of her “skin color” and was labeled “difficult” when she pointed out on-the-job discrimination.

When asked if she has any regrets looking back on her career, she says it was

“Right to stand up for my rights and keep my integrity as a black woman, but I should have spoken out more, but back then if you spoke out, people wouldn’t work with you.”

She added,

“It was worth my agent at the time not wanting to work with me because I didn’t want to accept something that was degrading to myself and to my culture.”

Thanks to Naomi Campbell’s undeniable beauty and integrity, she’s been able to solidify herself forever in the history books of fashion and modeling. She left the door open for more black women in fashion and modeling.

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