Dr. Sabrina Segal

Naomi Campbell has an ugly temper and a long history of tantrums. She’s flung a phone at an assistant, beat another with a Blackberry and assaulted a housekeeper with a jewel-encrusted mobile (to name just a few incidents in her checkered past).

Tough to forget the images of a supermodel mopping the floors of New York’s Sanitation Department in March 2007, subsequent to her court-sanctioned community service. Originally charged with felony assault, Campbell pleaded out to a misdemeanor. You’d think that it would’ve been the end of her career.

But it wasn’t.

The fall of 2007 brought a number of high profile gigs for Naomi: Marie Clair, Amica, Vogue UK, Harper’s Bazaar and Ocean Drive. Just as Kate Moss didn’t lose her endorser status following a drug scandal, neither did Naomi even after a trilogy of assaults. I guess crime actually pays for some.

Earlier this year, Naomi made a guest appearance on Bravo’s TV reality series “Make Me a Supermodel”. The eventual winner, Holly Kiser, said “I promise I won't be a diva. I promise not to throw any phones at you,” an apparent reference to Naomi.

Another bad girl, Britney Spears, made a ratings-shattering guest appearance on CBS’ “How I Met your Mother.” Naomi is doing a guest spot too! It looks like the train-wreck supermodel is putting her pieces back on track. Naomi is scheduled to appear as herself in the season finale of ABC’s Ugly Betty. Perhaps a perfect typecast with all of the ‘ugly’ behavior and backstabbing going on in that series.

Why do advertisers stick with celebrities who don’t necessarily embody the message of the brand? Aren’t there beautiful souls out there who could better represent a product – in both spirit and beauty? Or is it that the buying public prefers the daring, dangerous and dastardly?

Photo Credit: Dr. Sabrina Segal