Such an interesting choice of words Cindy!
According to The Independent Cindy Crawford now 57, reflects on an interaction she had with Oprah Winfrey in a new documentary on Apple TV+ titled The Super Models.
The documentary spotlights the careers of modelling stars Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Crawford, who rose to fame in the late Eighties.
In a clip shown in the documentary, Winfrey is heard introducing the then-aspiring model to The Oprah Winfrey Show before she asks: “Did she always have this body? This is unbelievable. Stand up just a moment, now this is what I call a BODY.”
Crawford, who was accompanied by John Casablancas, a representative from Elite Modelling Agency, then sheepishly stood up before the studio audience to show her figure.
Reflecting on the moment in the new documentary, Crawford said:
“I was like the chattel or a child, be seen and not heard.”
“When you look at it through today’s eyes, Oprah’s like, ‘Stand up and show me your body. Show us why you’re worthy of being here.’”
Crawford added: “In the moment I didn’t recognize it and watching it back I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that was so not okay really.’ Especially from Oprah.”
Elsewhere in the clip, Winfrey asked Crawford’s representative several questions, including whether Crawford had been put through a “training period”, to which Casablancas responded:
“With Cindy, it was much more psychologically she was not sure she really wanted to model… she didn’t see her potential as clearly as we did… for her it was more a question of mental stability.”
“Little by little, her ambition is growing.”
Casablancas added: “I’m saying it now on this program, if she wants to she can be number one in the business.”
Cindy Crawford calls out Oprah Winfrey for treating her like ‘chattel’ in old interview
In a resurfaced clip, Winfrey asks a 20-year-old Crawford to stand up and show her figure to the studio audiencehttps://t.co/Rvm21yw2XK pic.twitter.com/CHUsH3RhHm— Brightly (@BrightlyAgain) September 20, 2023
Elsewhere in the documentary, fellow supermodel Naomi Campbell reflected on the racism she faced early on in her modelling career.
She shared a specific experience when she and Turlington were getting into a taxi cab, and the driver appeared to assume that she lived in Brooklyn because she was a Black woman.
“I would put my hands out many times on New York City streets, and the taxis would fly by,” Campbell recalled. “Then Christy would put out the hand and they would stop. The guy would be like: ‘I don’t want to go to Brooklyn,’ and I’m like: ‘I’m not going to Brooklyn.’
“I was just like, why is he saying that? It didn’t strike me until, you know, Christy would have to stand out in front of me, get me a taxi to get it to work.”
'It was so NOT okay': Cindy Crawford blasts Oprah for treating her like 'CHATTEL' by demanding she show off her body on camera at age 20 to prove she was 'worthy' of fame – as supermodel opens up about regularly PASSING OUT from hunger on shoots pic.twitter.com/9oINGJMW6q
— NEWS BLOG (@mrichardp411) September 20, 2023
and
Ma’am, you were a model. She was basically asking you to do your job. https://t.co/Z4y66Rc6ID
— Walk Dawg (@Iamwalkdawg) September 20, 2023
and
Cindy Crawford needs to sit down and shut up about her time on Oprah. I mean get real you show your body everytime you walk the runway and most likely wearing a lot less clothes . You didn't have to stand if you didn't want to.
— Roni (@StandupforDem) September 20, 2023
