Martha Stewart apologizes after homeless costume backlash
Martha Stewart: The entrepreneur apologized after wearing a costume depicting a homeless person for Halloween. ( Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for God's Love We Deliver)
ByBob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Martha Stewart, who appeared to dress up as a homeless person for Halloween, apologized after a backlash of criticism, saying that she had “really screwed up.”
Stewart, 85, initially said she had not intended to offend anyone with her costume, which she posted on Instagram. The entrepreneur and media mogul was wearing ripped jeans, a torn sweater and her face was dirty, The New York Times reported.
She also sported a clipboard that read, “I Am Hungry Help Me!!” In her caption, Stewart pointed her followers to her candle collection on QVC, calling them “perfect” for Halloween.
The backlash was almost immediate, with critics accusing Stewart of being out of touch, the Times reported.
“Hunger is not a costume. It is a reality faced by 47.9 million people (one in seven households) across the country who are struggling to put food on the table,” Crystal FitzSimons, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center, said in a release, according to the newspaper. “Stigmatizing images and messaging reinforce harmful misconceptions about who experiences hunger and why.”
In a statement to NBC News and other media outlets, Stewart said she was “distressed” by the response. She added that the costume had been “intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness” and noted that she had long donated to and supported charities that focused on the issue.
She followed up her initial Instagram post with a more contrite statement.
“It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up. My earlier statement didn’t go far enough,” Stewart wrote on Instagram late Sunday. “I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry.”
Some critics were not mollified.
Timothy Coombs, a senior partner at the Center for Risk Communication, said that walking back a social media post can feel “hollow,” the Times reported.
Stewart needs to “address why the action was offensive, apologize for the poor execution that caused the concerns, and then discuss how you view this as a serious issue and are embarrassed,” Coombs told the newspaper. “She can end by saying what she has learned from the situation and how that might affect her future efforts to help with the issue.”
In August, Stewart was named as one of Forbes’ 250 greatest self-made Americans. She built a media empire and has launched multiple brands based on her lifestyle and her expertise and savvy in entertaining, ABC News reported.
The news organization reported that more than 745,000 people were homeless in the United States on a single night in January 2025, citing the 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report that was released in May by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this past May.
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Photos: Martha Stewart through the years Here are some memorable photos of Martha Stewart through the years. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 1982: Martha Stewart, right, cook and author of a new book, "Entertaining," and her friend and restaurant consultant Ruth Leserman of San Francisco, chop mushrooms while preparing dishes for a luncheon. The affair in Westport, Conn., in 1982 was to celebrate the book's publication. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2001: Martha Stewart attends the 2001 Henry Johnson Fisher Awards on January 31, 2001, at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. (George De Sota/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2002: Martha Stewart arrives for a party to launch the Tribeca Film Festival on May 7, 2002, in New York City. (Keith D. Bedford/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2003: Martha Stewart leaves federal court after pleading innocent to charges of securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice June 4, 2003, in New York City. Stewart was indicted in an insider-trading scandal threatening her media empire. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2004: Martha Stewart (left) and rap music star Reverend Run (center) pose together at the fifth annual Art for Life Benefit at the home of Russell Simmons on July 24, 2004, in East Hampton, New York. (Matthew Peyton/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2005: Martha Stewart (left) boards a private jet with her daughter Alexis Stewart at Greenbrier Valley Airport on March 4, 2005, after being released from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Stewart completed a five-month sentence at the prison for lying to investigators about a stock trade. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2006: Talk show host Martha Stewart arrives at the 33rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on April 28, 2006, in Hollywood, California. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2007: Martha Stewart attends the "She Made It: Women Creating Television and Radio" event held at the Paley Center For Media on December 6, 2007, in New York City. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2008: Media personality Martha Stewart attends the 2008 Martha Stewart Center for Living Gala at the Pierre Hotel on November 5, 2008, in New York City. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2009: Media personality Martha Stewart attends the Sean "Diddy" Combs' Birthday Celebration Presented by Ciroc Vodka at The Grand Ballroom at The Plaza Hotel on November 20, 2009, in New York City. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Bad Boy Entertainment)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2010: Martha Stewart, Betty White and Taylor Swift attend Time's 100 most influential people in the world gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 4, 2010, in New York City. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Time Inc.)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2011: Recording artist/actress Jennifer Hudson, record producer Clive Davis and television personality and author Martha Stewart attends the fourth annual Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai gala at the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Headquarters on November 16, 2011, in New York. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2012: Dr. Bill Pepicello, president of the University of Phoenix, and Martha Stewart pose before the University of Phoenix 2012 Graduation at University of Phoenix Stadium on June 29, 2012, in Glendale, Arizona. (Mike Moore/Getty Images for University of Phoenix)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2013: Television personality Martha Stewart attends Hub Network's first annual Halloween Bash at Barker Hangar on October 20, 2013, in Santa Monica, California. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2014: Martha Stewart attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 most influential people in the world, at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2014, in New York City. (Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2015: Rapper Snoop Dogg and TV personality Martha Stewart attend the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber at Sony Pictures Studios on March 14, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2015: Martha Stewart and Kim Kardashian attend the TIME 100 Gala, TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World on April 21, 2015, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2016: Actress Drew Barrymore and Martha Stewart attend ASPCA 19th annual Bergh Ball honoring Drew Barrymore, hosted by Nathan Lane wiith music by Mark Ronson at the Plaza Hotel on April 14, 2016, in New York City. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for ASPCA)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2017: Rapper Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart speak onstage during the 2017 MTV Movie And TV Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on May 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2018: Lea DeLaria, Jay Leno, Martha Stewart, Gaby Hoffmann and Claire Danes attend the 20th Anniversary Gala to celebrate Hudson River Park at Pier 60 on October 11, 2018, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Hudson River Park)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2019: Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart attend the TIME 100 Summit 2019 on April 23, 2019, in New York City. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for TIME)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2020: Martha Stewart attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2021: Derek Blasberg, Martha Stewart, and Lil Nas X attend the WSJ. Magazine 2021 Innovator Awards sponsored by Samsung, Harry Winston and Rémy Martin at MOMA on November 1, 2021, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards)
Photos: Martha Stewart through the years 2022: Martha Stewart at the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award on March 11, 2022, in Washington, DC honoring Diane von Furstenberg. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Dwight D. Opperman Foundation)
