celebrities and dictators

11 Stories

Spice Girl's Holiday Plans: Party With 'Ruthless' Leader

Mel 'Scary Spice' Brown headed to Rwandan president's palace

(Newser) - The latest celebrity to party with a "bad guy" ? Scary Spice. Melanie Brown, the Spice Girl also known as "Mel B," is spending Christmas with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his family, the Mirror reports. It seems Brown is friends with Kagame's grown kids, who...

J.Lo Has Made $10M Singing for Dictators

Human Rights Foundation uncovers a slew of other instances

(Newser) - After it came out that Jennifer Lopez scored a big payday to sing happy birthday to Turkmenistan dictator Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov , her rep insisted that had J.Lo known of any "human rights issues," she of course would not have attended the soiree. But the Human Rights Foundation implies...

Shame on You, Dennis Rodman
 Shame on You, 
 Dennis Rodman 
OPINION
Mar 4, 2013 1:54 PM CST

Shame on You, Dennis Rodman

Hanging out with dictators nothing to be proud of: John Avlon

(Newser) - The stories about Kim Jong Un partying with Dennis Rodman are funny—until you remember that North Korea is "a rogue nuclear power that regularly threatens war and starves its own people in prison camps," writes John Avlon on CNN . While Rodman is far from the first celebrity...

Swank Not the First to Party With Bad Guys

Actress sorry, claim she wasn't aware it was a birthday celebration

(Newser) - Well, that didn’t take long: Hilary Swank has officially apologized for celebrating the birthday of Chechnya's leader , a charming fellow accused of kidnappings, torture, and killings. But she can take comfort in the fact that she's not exactly a trailblazer when it comes to stars rubbing shoulders...

Celebs Slammed for Partying With Chechen Prez

Human Rights Watch wants them to give money back

(Newser) - Note to celebrities: We know swanky multimillion-dollar parties are probably fun and you get paid a lot to attend them, but it's probably best to skip those held in honor of political leaders accused of kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Hilary Swank and Jean Claude Van Damme did not...

Campbell May Face Charges Over Blood Diamonds

Possession of uncut diamonds criminal offense in S. Africa

(Newser) - After testimony from Mia Farrow and a former agent showed Naomi Campbell did knowingly receive blood diamonds from Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, the model could face criminal charges in South Africa, where she was given the diamonds. Possession of an uncut diamond is a criminal offense in South Africa, punishable...

Witness: Naomi Flirted With Blood Diamond Strongman

Ex-agent says model knew who diamonds came from

(Newser) - Naomi Campbell's former agent has testified that the model was fully aware that diamonds she was given in South Africa were a gift from Liberian strongman Charles Taylor. Campbell was flirting with Taylor at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela and Taylor was flirting back, Carole White told Taylor's war...

Mia Farrow: Naomi Lied About Blood Diamonds

Says Campbell got huge diamond, knew who it was from

(Newser) - Actress Mia Farrow testified at Charles Taylor's war crimes trial today that Naomi Campbell told her she had been sent a "huge diamond" by the former Liberian ruler, contradicting Campbell's testimony from last week. Farrow said that the morning after a party hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997, Campbell...

Naomi's Blood Diamonds Handed Over to Cops

Official with Mandela fund had kept them

(Newser) - For those following the trail of Naomi Campbell's so-called blood diamonds: mystery solved. She testified yesterday at the war crimes trial of Liberia's Charles Taylor that she received three such uncut diamonds, almost certainly from Taylor, in 1997. Today, the Guardian reports that Campbell then handed them over to an...

Naomi Testifies About Blood Diamonds

 Naomi Testifies 
 About Blood 
 Diamonds 

looked like 'dirty stones'
Aug 5, 2010 7:40 AM CDT

Naomi Testifies About Blood Diamonds

Yeah, they probably came from Charles Taylor, model says at his war crimes trial

(Newser) - Naomi Campbell may not like to talk about it , but she did, in fact, receive a gift of diamonds probably from former Liberian President Charles Taylor, she said today at his war crimes trial. Campbell testified that two men gave her a pouch containing a few “very small, dirty-looking...

Warlord Moves to Block Campbell Testimony

Taylor accused of giving model 'blood diamond'

(Newser) - Supermodels aren't often called as witnesses at war crimes tribunals, and Liberian strongman Charles Taylor's lawyers want to keep it that way. They're seeking to block Naomi Campbell from being subpoenaed to appear at Taylor's trial to testify about a "blood diamond" she allegedly received from the warlord at...

11 Stories