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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