Model Naomi Campbell
has unexpectedly pulled out of Cooking Showdown, a celebrity-driven reality
show that is being produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Cooking Showdown
features celebrities alongside well-known chefs who teach the stars how to prepare
a three-course meal. The week-long competition includes Ja Rule, Tom Arnold
and Gabrielle Reese, among others.
Reports suggested
that Campbell suddenly reneged on the show because of a feud with Combs.
The short-fused
model made headlines on March 30, when she was charged with second-degree assault
for allegedly striking her housekeeper in the head with a phone during an argument
in her New York apartment.
While preparing
for an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the 35-year-old supermodel
accused her housekeeper of stealing her clothes.
After being treated
and receiving four stitches, the housekeeper told police officers that Campbell
threw a cell phone and hit her on the head.
In 2005, reports
surfaced that Campbell assaulted an assistant with a Blackberry device while
traveling in Rio de Janeiro. Campbell was also sued in 2003 by a former assistant
that claimed she threw a cell phone at her during a heated argument.
Campbell pleaded
guilty to assaulting another assistant in Toronto in 1998 but the model denied
the latest accusations in a statement issued last week.
"From the
time she began working for me about two-and-a-half months ago, I began questioning
her about items I found missing," Campbell said. "This morning, when
I finally fired her for that and her erratic behavior, she screamed, ‘This is
going to cost you a lot of money.’ After some more yelling and screaming on
her part, she left the house. The next thing I knew, I got a call from the police.
I have no idea how she was injured. She is sadly mistaken if she thinks she
can extract money from me by concocting lies by recycling old stories. I have
asked my lawyer to look into filing both theft and extortion charges against
her."
Campbell will appear
before a grand jury on June 27.
