Recovering drug addict Naomi Campbell lampooned over Jacob Zuma open letter

British supermodel, actress and businesswoman Naomi Campbell has received a blasting from die-hard Jacob Zuma supporters for her open letter criticising the former president for his defiance of the courts and stoking division which has cast a shadow over Madiba's vision.

Campbell took to Instagram on Friday to weigh in on the recent protests which resulted in deaths, looting and the destruction of business which has set the country back by billions of rand. She urged Zuma to act by taking responsibility for the calamity which gripped South Africa affecting many families.

"This isn't the South Africa I remember and that millions of South Africans fought for. The South Africa that overcame apartheid, showed the world that change was possible. Led the battle in the fight against HIV/Aids and has weathered countless efforts to undermine the new South Africa," she wrote.

"I have watched how over the last few years you have protested your innocence at the allegations tabled against you of corruption and allowing mass state capture. I have seen you go out of your way to avoid having to deal with these matters in court and avoid a commission set up to investigate state capture."

Campbell accused Zuma of hypocrisy, saying he spoke of upholding the rule of law yet he defied the courts, which had resulted in his incarceration prompting violence.

"These actions not only saw hundreds lose their lives and property be destroyed. But its effects will now be felt by many millions more. Each day you defy the courts and stoke division you take a step backwards from Madiba's vision for South Africa to prosper and for there not only be equitable political justice but also economic justice," she wrote.

"Agree to finish your appearance in front of the state capture commission and equally you will have your days in court to contest the corruption charges alleged against you. Put the nation first."

Many applauded the supermodel for speaking out against Zuma, who has been a "curse" for the country. However, it was not long before Zuma followers threw insults at Campbell and urged her to mind her own business.

A social media user said: "I hear Naomi Campbell thought just because she was loved by the Mandela family, she is loved by all South Africans. She was wrong. Days of 'Mandela magic' are gone."

Another social media user said: "Naomi Campbell had no clue that South Africans had long passed Madiba's fake democracy stage. South Africans were now celebrating real heroes like Steve Biko, Robert Sobukwe and Chris Hani while fighting real issues like landlessness, poverty and systematic discrimination."

But it was Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, Zuma's daughter, who dragged the model through the mud reminding her of her past scandals involving Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia convicted of war crimes.

In 2012, Campbell admitted to receiving a gift of uncut diamonds at a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997 where Taylor had also been a guest. Taylor was accused of sustaining the invasion of Sierra Leone by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) trading weapons for blood diamonds.

Zuma-Sambudla also reminded Campbell that she was a recovering drug addict and that she needed to focus her energy on her billionaire ex-boyfriend, Vladislav Doronin, whom she broke up with in 2013 who was suing her for unlawfully keeping property worth more than R43 million.

After receiving a barrage of unpleasant responses Campbell deactivated comments on her original post.