Martha Stewart is apologizing again, this time on national television, after her Halloween costume depicting a homeless person triggered a wave of public criticism.
The 85-year-old lifestyle mogul dressed in ripped jeans, a distressed shirt and carried a cardboard sign reading “I AM HUNGRY. HELP ME!!” The photo first surfaced on an Instagram carousel promoting her QVC candle line before being deleted amid negative comments.
Appearing on “Today” Friday, Stewart admitted her grandson flagged the problem before the rest of the country did.
“According to my grandson, I was tone-deaf,” Stewart said.
She told the show she threw the costume together at the last minute after initially planning to skip Halloween altogether, and said a chocolate stain on her white sweater helped inspire the idea. She joked co-anchor Craig Melvin caused the stain, then clarified she was kidding.
“But I made a mistake. I mean, I was stupid. Yeah. What else can I say? What else can I say? I’m so sorry,” Stewart said.
She asked the public directly to move past it.
“I hope that my followers and my fans and the rest of America forgives me for doing something that was not meant in any way to be a bad thing,” she said.
Her first statement, given to Page Six, framed the costume differently, as an attempt to draw attention to a serious issue rather than an outright mistake.
“I am distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness, has offended people, which was never my intention,” she said, adding that homelessness “continues to remain one of America’s greatest challenges and ongoing crises, something that I care deeply about.”
She later walked that framing back in a follow-up Instagram apology, dropping the claim that the costume was meant to raise awareness and instead calling it a straightforward error in judgment.
“It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up,” she wrote. “I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry. – Martha.”
On “Today,” Stewart said the episode taught her to “pay closer attention to social issues. Be aware.” Fox News Digital said it had reached out to Stewart for further comment.
