The supermodel pleaded guilty today to an assault charge for bonking her former personal assistant over the head with a telephone.
But fear not, the noted catwalker will not be doing any hard time. In fact, she won't be doing any time--under a deal worked out between her legal eagles and prosecutors in Canada (where the phone-bonking incident took place two years ago), she said she was sorry and was let go sans punishment or criminal record.
For most normal, non-famous folk, an assault conviction can bring up to six months in prison or a $1,370 fine. "It was a just disposition," prosecutor Calvin Barry said without a hint of sarcasm.
The accusation against the model first came to light in October 1998 when the bonkee, Georgina Galanis, filed an $8 million lawsuit against Campbell. The suit claims Galanis, 40, suffered "severe injuries" and "severe mental distress" during her employment with the renowned clothes-wearer and sometime actress-singer while shooting the film Prisoner of Love in Canada in 1998.
The ex-assistant says her stormy tenure culminated in a catfight wherein Campbell allegedly grabbed Galanis' throat, slammed her against a wall of their Toronto hotel room and bludgeoned her with a phone--twice.
All this after nine whole days on the job.
No immediate comment from Campbell, 29, who had previously denied the charges. She was too busy debuting her signature line of perfume in Sydney to actually show up in the Toronto courtroom to enter her plea (her lawyer did the dirty work).
That leads us to Naomi news No. 2 for the day: While Down Under hawking her toilet water, the model announced she's giving up the catwalking routine in New York and London because it's too demanding. "I find it really stressful...Doing 16 shows and then having to do fittings and dress rehearsals," she said Wednesday. "I'm not saying poor me, I just find it very stressful and I want to chill out a bit more, so maybe it's about doing less."
But there's some hope for all you fashion followers--Campbell says she may still trot the runway in Milan. Phew.