Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Elle Macpherson in rhino horn row
Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson has got herself into a spot of bother by implying in a recent interview that she used powdered rhino horn as a beauty therapy, even though the animal is endangered. Animal welfare groups have reportedly reacted angrily, prompting her to issue a statement clarifying that her remarks, made in the shortened Twitter format, were tongue-in-cheek.
“While I’m happy that the critical issue of protecting endangered species is back in the headlines, I am a but surprised that it is based on my use of herbal and homeopathic medicine,” she said in a statement given to Reuters.
“I was Twittering with a Times journalist about the taste of herbal medicines and made a flippant comment inferring I had tasted rhino horn. To be clear, I have never knowingly consumed or encouraged consumption of any products derived from endangered species. The idea is abhorrent to me. While I love my herbal and Chinese remedies I would never put my health over the survival of a species. I guess this is one of the pitfalls of 140 character journalism.”
She went on to explain that four out of five species of rhino are under immediate threat, mainly due to poaching for their horns. “Killing rhinos because some people think its horn is an aphrodisiac is beyond appalling.”
Naomi Campbell “air rage” row turns nasty
Details of supermodel Naomi Campbell’s “air rage” outburst in April came to light in court on Friday, and very nasty it sounded too. According to the prosecution, there was a lot of swearing and shouting, some flailing arms and legs, spitting and general accusations of racism, all on a British Airways aircraft preparing to take off for Los Angeles. The reason? A lost piece of luggage.
Bad blood between Campbell and the airline that reportedly banned her over the incident turned sourer still after the 38-year-old subsequently accused someone on the flight of calling her a “Golliwog supermodel”, explaining that it was “not the passenger”. BA has come out with a firm denial of any allegations of racism, but we may not have heard the last of the infamous April 3 inflight incident just yet.
