I see with interest that Naomi Campbell has come out in public support of Kate Moss. I am glad someone has, even though I am not sure whether the beleaguered supermodel will benefit from her problem being shared by one of fashion’s least liked ambassadors.

It would be great if we could do a quick headcount of models who indulge in the odd chop and sniff, and perhaps then expand that to find out about the industry in general. Your Diors and Mulberrys who have dropped the model – wouldn’t it be wonderful to pull back a curtain onto their world, to see if, as I suspect, many of them insist on the unnatural, unsustainable thinness of the models – which is surely a by-product of the drug welcomed by the industry? Wouldn’t you like to see if any of the people from the client themselves indulge backstage with the models? I would be surprised if they all came out whiter than white.

And more importantly, if we are doing an expose, would it not be of interest to investigate these purveyors of so-called ‘role-model’ morals, the complacent hacks of the press, who so long ago forgot the enthusiasm with which they joined the ranks of the Fourth Estate, and now just churn out meaningless drivel instead of trying to write thoughtful pieces which will change the way we think. Now, perhaps I am generalising here, but it was my impression that the occasional toot at a Fleet Street shindig is not unheard of. (I am reminded of the time when the BBC revealed that such and such a percentage of bank notes, when tested, could be found to have traces of cocaine. And then it was revealed that they had got the notes from their staff. Apocryphal, perhaps, but it illustrates my point humorously. And hey – if the paid up members of the journalistic world can be slapdash in their opinion making, then why can’t I?)

The thing is, the press are not even consistent in their anti-drug outrage. Last year, when Mutu was fired from Chelsea for his drug use, I recall reading several articles which questioned why Mourinho hadn’t put him into rehab or given him counselling, as they recognised that he is suffering from an illness, and should be supported, not censured.

But the difference is, of course, that Kate Moss has refused to bow to tabloid pressure to ditch the beast to whom she, in their view, played beauty. The press’ treatment of Pete Doherty, no easily PR’ed, fresh-faced popstrel, is another story and another rant entirely, but when Moss stuck by her man, showing a loyalty and strength of character not common in celebrity couples, they clearly felt snubbed that she hadn’t taken their persistent advice to get out of the relationship.

Kate Moss has, of course, apologised. She had to – to stop the ‘melt-down’ of her career which Max Clifford was predicting this time last week. It was probably the right thing to do. But I can’t help wishing that she had blown the lid on the whole lot of them. To me, hypocrisy of that order in the press is a far better indicator of the moral decay of society, than someone (trying very hard to do so in private) getting off their head.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 27th, 2005 at 2:10 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.