Elsa Majimbo, the Kenyan influencer who rose to prominence four years ago thanks to her chip-eating comedy sketches, has shared her candid, unfiltered account of how befriending Naomi Campbell later disrupted her modeling path.
In a February 18 Instagram Story, she paused to model her outfit while excitedly declaring, “I’m so happy today. I’m so happy. It feels like this is the first day of my life. I have carried so much on my chest for too long… It’s a beautiful day!… I feel fantastic; I feel free.”
In a TikTok post that has since been removed, the 22-year-old opened up about the shift from feeling special with Campbell by her side to feeling controlled. Majimbo met Campbell in December 2020 when she accepted an impulsive vacation invitation from the icon of 1990s fashion.
During part of the trip, Majimbo recounted, Campbell proposed a documentary—“a film about you living in Kenya.” A few moments from their time together can be seen in the “A Day in the Life with Elsa Majimbo” video Campbell shared on her YouTube channel in 2021.
Majimbo agreed to what appeared to be a once-in-a-lifetime business proposition and was introduced to a number of Hollywood players, some of whom were under the impression that the supermodel had engineered her entire career.
“‘Yeah, she told us like she made you, and she built you, and she made your career…like what you have is because of her,’” one of the women recalled. The influencer clarified that Campbell did help provide credibility, but that her career could not be solely attributed to the fashion icon. By March 2022, their relationship had soured precisely as Majimbo’s 15-minute documentary, “Elsa,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Elsa did a big mistake by uploading this Tiktok video. Naomi Campbell got connections and trust me no big brand or name will want to associate with her in future despite the fact she deleted it. pic.twitter.com/2oZxpNxtqJ
— Allano™🍉 (@papaallano_) February 18, 2024
Campbell allegedly believed her protégé had moved forward with the project without her. “‘No, no, that’s not what it’s about,’ I tried explaining to her. And then she was like, ‘I’ll sue you for the rights of this movie, and you know I will,’” she recalled in the post. The film touches on Majimbo’s life in Kenya, the bullying she endured, and how she found a way to be her authentic self within the comedy space.
Shortly after their exchange, Campbell cut ties with Majimbo. As a result, Majimbo says her career began to spiral. “Having someone like Naomi Campbell not like you in the industry is not a good thing…I started drinking a lot, a lot, a lot,” she revealed.
A chance meeting with former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful helped her piece together that her former mentor may have played a role in the “trials and tribulations” she faced.
“Talking about the Naomi Campbell situation is very hard and scary for me. But I don’t want to be owned by someone else, and I want to acknowledge that a lot of big hits and blows in my career came from another Black woman and not my own incompetence,” she added.
Majimbo later reached out to Campbell again and offered an apology. When they finally reconciled, Majimbo said she made sure to keep Campbell informed of every move and even allowed her to weigh in on which opportunities to accept in hopes of staving off another falling out. Yet, within weeks, she felt that the dynamic was neither healthy, pleasant, nor normal. Consequently, she stepped away from Campbell’s orbit.
“So yeah, me and her, we’re not friends. We are not enemies. We’re not anything. Just naturally, in association so we are just strangers,” the social media sensation added. She noted that she deleted the TikTok after it reached Campbell.
“She threatened to sue and post screenshots of a time I asked for her help with some older white executives who were trying to sleep with me. I’m now moving on and leaving it in the past,” she wrote in another tweet.
Well, if Naomi Campbell didn’t blackball her before.. it’s gon happen now
I don’t know about yall, but I would have kept my mouth shut if I was Elsa and continued rubbing oil on my beautiful body.. pic.twitter.com/6iWkeTdawP— 𝕽𝖚𝖉𝖊 𝕰𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖒𝖆 (@Navistarkadiri) February 18, 2024
In separate posts, she stated that she had already healed, that she had cut off contact, and that no job or amount of money could be worth the humiliation and trauma. She also claimed that Campbell had contributed to her becoming an alcoholic and severely depressed.
Campbell is presently promoting a new clothing line in collaboration with BOSS and has not issued a public statement addressing the allegations.
