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Daily Inspiration Quote by Naomi Campbell

"After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela"

About this Quote

Grief turns into a status report in Naomi Campbell's blunt little flex: tragedy, then the phone tree. The line lands because it's two sentences worth of cultural hierarchy compressed into one. Gianni Versace's murder was a 1997 tabloid shockwave, but Campbell's emphasis isn't on loss or fear; it's on proximity to power. In her world, intimacy is measured by who reaches you first, and the fact that it's Nelson Mandela instantly reframes the event from celebrity news to global consequence.

The subtext is social capital as consolation. Campbell isn't just mourning a friend and collaborator; she's marking her position in an elite network where fashion, politics, and philanthropy blur. Mandela's call signals legitimacy that no runway credit can buy. It also suggests the private infrastructure behind public icons: leaders don't only govern; they cultivate relationships, offer comfort, and, in doing so, confer a kind of moral halo on the recipient.

There's a quieter tension, too. By invoking Mandela, Campbell preempts cynicism about the fashion world's alleged shallowness: look who took this seriously. Yet the name-drop is unavoidable, and that's the point. Her quote performs what celebrity does at its most revealing: it converts an unspeakable moment into a narrative of connection, where the measure of impact isn't just who died, but who cared enough - or was important enough - to call.

Quote Details

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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Campbell, Naomi. (2026, January 16). After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-versace-was-murdered-the-first-person-to-84418/

Chicago Style
Campbell, Naomi. "After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-versace-was-murdered-the-first-person-to-84418/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"After Versace was murdered, the first person to call me was Mandela." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/after-versace-was-murdered-the-first-person-to-84418/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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After Versace was murdered, Mandela called me - Naomi Campbell
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About the Author

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Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1970) is a Model from United Kingdom.

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