Campbell Charged With Hitting Housekeeper

By DESMOND BUTLER

NEW YORK – Naomi Campbell was charged with second-degree assault Thursday after cracking her housekeeper in the head with a phone during an argument in her Park Avenue apartment, police said.

The 35-year-old British-born supermodel was taken into custody shortly after police went to Lenox Hill Hospital to investigate the reported assault, police said.

Campbell was charged after questioning at the Midtown North Precinct, where scores of photographers, reporters and film crews awaited her exit.

According to police, Campbell’s 41-year-old housekeeper received four stitches to the head. When investigating officers arrived at the hospital, the alleged victim, who wasn’t identified, said Campbell had attacked her, police said.

The incident allegedly happened around 8 a.m. in Campbell’s tony Park Avenue apartment.

In a statement, a Campbell spokesman said the supermodel wasn’t responsible for any assault.

"We believe this is a case of retaliation, because Naomi had fired her housekeeper earlier this morning," said the statement from J.R. Johnson. "We are confident the courts will see it the same way."

Campbell, one of the world’s most recognizable faces, was discovered at age 15. She launched a career that landed her in magazines worldwide – including the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

In 2003, she was sued by a former administrative assistant who alleged that Campbell had thrown a phone at her during a tantrum two years earlier.

Campbell pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating another assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998.

She has also battled a cocaine addiction.