Naomi Campbell Will Fight Italian Court’s Decision

Naomi Campbell is fighting back against the sentence she received in an Italian court yesterday as the result of a 2009 attack against a photographer.

“We are appealing the ruling surrounding the 2009 incident. Due to the ongoing legal process, we cannot discuss the matter further at this time,” said Campbell’s attorney Guido Carlo Alleva in a statement to E! News.

A Sicilian judge made an example out of Naomi Campbell when he sentenced her to a six-month suspended sentence for assaulting a photographer in 2009.

The incident occurred when Campbell and then-boyfriend Vladislav Doronin arrived at the Sicilian island of Lipari. Photographer Gaetano Di Giovanni began snapping pictures of the pair as they stepped off the boat. The paparazzo followed Naomi and her boyfriend as they walked around the island and continued to snap pictures while they were sightseeing. That’s when Campbell lost her temper and attacked, hitting the photographer with her purse.

“I had just started taking some shots of her and I did not expect such a violent reaction,” said Di Giovanni following the attack.

Campbell’s fury resulted in a scratch to the photographer’s eye that required medical attention and a three-day recovery time.

Naomi’s attorneys had previously reached a settlement with Di Giovanni, who agreed to drop the charges. According to the Huffington Post, the prosecutor ordered the trial to continue despite the agreement, stating it was “in the public interest” because of “the gravity of the charges against her.”

The famous supermodel has a well-documented history of anger problems. When she left the Elite Agency in 1993, they weren’t unhappy to see her go. They released a statement following her departure saying as much.

“Please be informed that we do not wish to represent Ms. Naomi Campbell any longer. No amount of money or prestige could further justify the abuse that has been imposed on our staff and clients. All who have experienced this will understand.”

According to New York Magazine, Naomi ran into further trouble when her personal assistant filed a multi-million dollar suit against the model, accusing her of disturbing threats and physical assault.

This isn’t the first time Naomi Campbell has run into trouble with the law as a result of an outburst, but this is the most serious sentence she’s received. In 2007, Ms. Campbell received a sentence of five days of community service and two days of anger management classes for hitting a housekeeper with a phone. She was arrested again in 2008 and banned from Heathrow airport for life following an argument over lost luggage.

Campbell does appear to feel some remorse over her past actions. In a 2013 interview on UK’s Jonathon Ross Show, Naomi Campbell broke down in tears when speaking about her anger issues.

“Anger is an emotion. There were things I had to deal with. You have to deal with it,” she told the show’s host.

What are your thoughts? Did she get off light? Will this sentence help her think about her actions in the future? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

[Image via Dominque Charriau/Getty Images]