Naomi Campbell Recalled Being George Michael’s ‘Leader of the Gang’ in Supermodel Video
Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington dominated the pop culture space in the ’90s, most notably in George Michael’s music video “Freedom! ’90.”
Although the iconic models were equally featured in the video, Campbell said she was the “leader” of the group. “George pitched it to me in L.A. and his exact words were, ‘You’re the leader of the gang and unless you say yes, the rest of the girls won’t,'” she recalled to Daily Mail in 2022.
Leader or not, Crawford said Michael insisted that all of the models appear in the video. “He wants you five, and it has to be all of you five,” she shared.
Naomi Campbell revealed how George Michael pitched the ‘Freedom! 90’ video
During a 2017 appearance on Harry, Harry Connick Jr.’s former talk show, Campbell opened up about how Michael pitched the idea to her at a club.
“I remember when George came up to me in England, I was in the night club and he’s like, ‘Well I heard you’re the leader and I want you to do this video. I want all of you from the cover in the video and I heard I have to ask you first,’” Campbell dished.
She then insisted she wasn’t actually the leader. “I was like, ‘No, you don’t. I don’t know where you got that from but anyway, I was like yes sir but this is what we want… next thing we knew we were in London working with the great David Fincher and Camilla Nickerson who works at Vogue and we were doing the video,” she said.
Apple TV+ dives into the backstory of the fabulous supermodels
Campbell and the four groundbreaking models are the subject of a new Apple TV+ four-part docuseries The Super Models. The series will explore the models’ cultural impact and America’s fascination and obsession with them.
“The Super Models travels back to the 1980s, when four women from different corners of the world united in New York,” according to a release.
“Already forces in their own right, the gravitas they achieved by coming together transcended the industry itself. Their prestige was so extraordinary that it enabled the four to supersede the brands they showcased, making the names Naomi, Cindy, Linda, and Christy as prominent as the designers who styled them.”
The docuseries also revisits the women today. “Today, the four supermodels remain on the frontlines of culture through activism, philanthropy, and business prowess. As the fashion industry continues to redefine itself — and women’s roles within it — this is the ultimate story of power and how four women came together to claim it, paving the way for those to follow.”
Campbell, Crawford, Evangelista, and Turlington are named as executive producers of the new series, which was originally announced in 2020.
“I’m excited to reunite with my friends to both celebrate and examine the way supermodels transcended the traditional perceptions and limits of modeling in the fashion industry through time,” Crawford shared on Instagram in Oct. 2020. “With the support of Imagine Documentaries and Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple, we plan to explore the dynamic personalities, and shifts in media and culture that helped shape and define this iconic era. “The Supermodels” coming to @abbie-hendryppleTV.”
The Super Models begins streaming Sept. 20 on Apple TV+.
