Naomi Campbell reveals the hard bargain she drove as leader of the supermodel gang to star in George Michael’s Freedom! music video

Naomi Campbell has revealed the tough deal she made with George Michael to star the supermodel gang in the famous music video Freedom!

In the video, directed by Academy Award nominee David Fincher, Naomi, 53, Cindy Crawford, 57, Christy Turlington, 54, Linda Evangelista, 58, dubbed the lyrics, while George himself did not appear.

The women walked the Versace catwalk to the song in 1991, days after filming the iconic video.

In the new Apple TV documentary The Supermodels, Naomi recalls how George managed to get them all on board and how it propelled their fame to greater heights.

She says, “We get a call that George Michael wants us in his video. So we all talk. . . Who’s going to tell George?

The video, directed by Academy Award nominee David Fincher, saw Naomi, 53, Cindy Crawford, 57, Christy Turlington, 54, Linda Evangelista, 58, lip sync the lyrics

“Actually, I’m in a nightclub in Los Angeles. . . and George is there and he comes up to me and says, “So what do you want?”

“I said, ‘We want that much money and Concorde return tickets,’ and he says, ‘And that’s it?’ and I said, “That’s it.”

Annie Veltri, representing the supermodels, helped negotiate the deal and agreed that all her clients would receive an equal pay of $15,000 a day.

“We didn’t know at all what impact that video had. We didn’t have time to know because honestly we were just jumping from one country to another,” says Naomi The sun.

It wasn’t until they walked down the Versace catwalk to the song that they realized this was a pivotal moment in their careers.

Christy says, “You could feel that moment. That’s a moment when you’re a little new. It’s actually iconic.’

George died of heart disease on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53. He is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with estimated sales of between 100 million and 125 million records worldwide.

The Supermodels takes fans back to the 1980s, at the start of their modeling careers, and documents how the four women from around the world came together and collectively achieved fame that transcended the entire industry.

The four-part series also explores the women’s work today, not just in the fashion industry, but also in activism, philanthropy and business, and how the quartet paved the way for the next generation.

Sorely missed: George died of heart disease on Christmas Day in 2016 at the age of 53 (2005 photo)

Amazing: The women walked the Versace catwalk to the song in 1991, days after filming the iconic video

Iconic: Annie Veltri, representing the supermodels, helped negotiate the deal and agreed that all her clients would receive an equal pay of $15,000 a day (photo Linda Evangelista)

The Supermodels: Takes fans back to the 1980s at the start of their modeling careers, documenting how the four women from around the world came together

Back: The ladies, along with fellow supermodels Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer and Helen Christensen, reunited on the runway for the Versace SS18 show in 2017

Originally from South London, Naomi established herself in the top three most recognizable and in-demand models of the late 1980s.

She appeared on the cover of British Elle just before she turned 16, and in 1987 she became the first black cover girl of British Vogue since 1966.

Meanwhile, Cindy is said to have been on about 500 magazine covers and walked for shows including Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Christian Dior, DKNY and previously Valentino.

The ladies, along with fellow supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Helen Christensen and Carla Bruni, reunited on the runway in 2017 for the Versace SS18 show during Milan Fashion Week.

Fashion’s golden girls took the show to a stunning climax after it was opened by Kendall Jenner and model sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid.

The 1990s supermodels walked the runway with designer Donatella Versace to thunderous applause as they paid tribute to her late designer brother Gianni Versace, who was murdered in 1997.

On the twentieth anniversary of his passing, it was a fitting tribute to a man each of the women personally worked with during their modeling days.

The series is directed by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Larissa Bills, while executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries.

The Supermodels launches September 20 on Apple TV+.