Naomi Campbell 2009 interview

P:You seemed to keep a very dignified silence regarding the passing of Michael Jackson. What are your most powerful feelings about him? N: Well, I did give a short statement which I think you should do. I said that I had grown up with him, that he was a good friend and that he was the most exciting and innovative entertainer to have lived. I was very fortunate to see Michael last fall, and he was great. In fact I took Kate to see him, Pat McGrath, Mert and Marcus, we all went to say hello to him. P:Where? N:In Los Angeles. We all had a very nice tea together. And he was in great form. He was looking very much forward to coming here... he wasn't even coming to do the concerts then, he was just coming to visit. He was very kind to me and my family. The last concert he did in London he invited my whole family; my grandmother, my cousins, my aunts, he was very gracious. And when I worked with him it was fun because he was like a child. In that In The Closet video, to have him just in pair of jeans and a t-shirt with his hair back, that video is where he looks the most simple. It was a lot of work to get him down to that but it was fun. I had such a lot of fun on that video. We had a big whipped cream fight on the last day. I was all bandaged up and wrapped up in army clothes to protect myself from getting covered with the cream. P:Did you know him before that? N:Before he asked me to do the In the Closet video, no. P: Were you star struck at all? N:No. I wasn't star struck. He was someone I had grown up with all my life so I was very respectful, I admired him, and was very honoured and blessed to do his video. I just try to savour those moments. P:What did you think about Michael's memorial service? N:I have nothing to say about the ceremony because I think that is the way that his family wanted to do it. I think it was correct to show it to the world because the whole world was mourning Michael Jackson and his incredible music and career. P:That's certainly true.