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Naomi Campbell is facing criticism from gay rights campaigners for agreeing to host a ‘spectacular’ fashion show in Qatar.
The supermodel, who has previously spoken passionately in support of LGBT rights, stands accused of helping to ‘launder the reputation’ of the authoritarian Gulf state where homosexuality is illegal.
On Tuesday, Miss Campbell joined a VIP dinner in the capital Doha to mark the opening of the Baghdad: Eye’s Delight exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art.
The 52-year-old was pictured at the museum with US model Bella Hadid, 26, who wore a head scarf as part of a glamorous black and gold-buttoned suit. Tomorrow, she is due to host the Naomi Campbell Fashion for Relief event at the grand Ceremonial Court in Doha.
On Tuesday, Miss Campbell joined a VIP dinner in the capital Doha to mark the opening of the Baghdad: Eye’s Delight exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art
The 52-year-old was pictured at the museum with US model Bella Hadid, 26, pictured, who wore a head scarf as part of a glamorous black and gold-buttoned suit. Tomorrow, she is due to host the Naomi Campbell Fashion for Relief event at the grand Ceremonial Court in Doha
It will include a couture show featuring ‘world-renowned fashion houses’. The publicity material adds: ‘This spectacular charity event is to be attended by over 1,000 VIP guests from the worlds of fashion, entertainment, arts and business.’ The show will be attended by its patron Sheikha Al-Mayassa, the sister of Qatar’s ruler.
Other celebrities who have also been enjoying Qatar’s hospitality include singer Janet Jackson, 56, and British model Poppy Delevingne, 36, who last night attended the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize ceremony at the National Museum of Qatar.
Gay men and women are persecuted in the Arab nation where homosexuality is considered abnormal and punishable by three years in jail. Human rights organisation Amnesty International has said women and LGBTQ+ people ‘continue to face discrimination in law and practice’ in the country.
Naomi poses at the bash alongside artist Daniel Lismore (left) and painter Kehinde Wiley (right)
Naomir and businessman Guram Gvasalia giggle as they pose for a snap
Naomi and Bella with artist Olafur Eliasson
Other celebrities who have also been enjoying Qatar’s hospitality include singer Janet Jackson, 56, pictured with Paula Abdul, and British model Poppy Delevingne, 36, who last night attended the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize ceremony at the National Museum of Qatar
Poppy Delevingne, wearing Miu Miu attends the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize 2022 Awards Ceremony at The National Museum of Qatar
Dr Nas Mohamed, the first Qatari to publicly come out as gay, said: ‘Naomi is a global icon but Qatar is trying to have it both ways, be it in fashion or sport, by presenting itself as modern, [while it is also] a closed non-inclusive country.
‘Qatar uses these platforms to launder its reputation. Is Naomi willing to say something when she’s [there] because the LGBT community is not OK?’
The fashion show is being held to launch Miss Campbell’s new global initiative called Emerge, which is described as aiming ‘to empower the next generation of creative and business talent’.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who said he was this week detained by officials while protesting about gay rights in Qatar, said: ‘Miss Campbell’s involvement is inconsistent, given the country’s appalling restrictions on women and the criminalisation of LGBT’
She has often publicly voiced support for the LGBT community. In 2021, she joined a host of celebrities in signing a letter of support for the LGBT community in Ghana. And she once said: ‘If it wasn’t for gay men, I would not exist… I owe my life to gay men. It’s just what I have grown up with. It’s my family.’
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who said he was this week detained by officials while protesting about gay rights in Qatar, said: ‘Miss Campbell’s involvement is inconsistent, given the country’s appalling restrictions on women and the criminalisation of LGBT.’
Miss Campbell’s spokesman said: ‘She is famously supportive of the LBGTQ+ community and she understands that being engaged in places like Qatar is an essential step towards positive change. To suggest that her Emerge initiative is in any way an affront to the LGBTQ+ community shows a lack of understanding of who [she] is as a person and as a global citizen.’
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