Moss did coke at Madiba party
2005-09-19 07:05
London - Supermodel Kate Moss allegedly slipped away from her table next to that of former president Nelson Mandela at a banquet to go and snort cocaine.
This was established in an investigation by the British Sunday paper, News of the World, into the drug problems of the world-famous model.
The newspaper quoted Rebecca White - who had worked as personal assistant to another supermodel, Naomi Campbell - who alleged that 31-year-old Moss had asked for cocaine to the value of a few thousand rand even before the start of the banquet in aid of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund in Barcelona, Spain.
When the man who had been asked to go and buy the coke only returned with it halfway through the banquet, she went over to Moss with the purpose of apologising.
Apologise
"I went to Kate's table and tried to apologise as discreetly as possible but she told me not to worry as she had been able to get hold of a gram of cocaine.
"She left the banquet a number of times to go and sniff coke and that while Nelson Mandela was sitting at the table next to her's.
"I could not believe the disrespect of the whole episode," White said. "It was supposed to be a charity event for Nelson Mandela and his Children's Fund, but as far as Kate was concerned, it only gave her another excuse to use drugs."
White alleges Moss and Campbell regularly sniffed coke together and at times there were handfuls of cocaine tablets lying in front of them.
She told the paper that the two models once, while on a flight between New York and London, each downed a number of Ecstasy pills with champagne.
In its investigation the newspaper established Moss is known among her fellow coke sniffers as the "Magician" because of her dexterity at crushing the tablets and then sniffing the powder.
Embarked
Someone who worked for Moss at one stage told the newspaper the model embarked on the drug route because she was afraid of becoming overweight.
Die former employee thinks the problem has become worse since rock star Peter Doherty, 26, started dating her in January this year.
She alleged buys up to five grams of cocaine per week and then also drinks Ecstasy and Valium pills and is very fond of her liquor.
Moss has contracts to the value of some R50m a year.
Last week photographs that appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper, showing her in the act of sniffing coke, caused a furore.
But apparently Moss believes that these pictures will help her to become even more famous.
Janet Fischgrund, a friend of Kate's, told News of the World: "Kate Moss is a very sick woman with a very serious addiction. She needs help."