Martha Stewart Speaks Out After Tone-Deaf Homeless Halloween Costume Sparks Backlash

Death, taxes, and celebrities wearing Halloween costumes their publicists would have strongly advised against. Some traditions simply refuse to die.

This year's contender? Martha Stewart, whose questionable wardrobe choice turned into a public relations nightmare after she seemingly dressed as an unhoused person—and used the occasion to promote her QVC candles.

You can view Stewart's controversial costume below:

The 85-year-old lifestyle mogul appeared in ripped jeans, a tattered sweater, a black beanie, and dirt-smeared makeup. The finishing touch? A handwritten sign that left little room for interpretation.

Stewart's sign even read:

“I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!”

The commercial tie-in made the optics even more awkward. Stewart wasn't simply portraying someone struggling to afford food. The image appeared alongside a promotion for her candle collection, turning an already questionable outfit into a marketing spectacle.

Stewart deleted the photo, but not before screenshots spread across social media, where critics accused the lifestyle queen of turning poverty into a punchline.

As the backlash intensified, Stewart attempted to explain her thinking, insisting that her intentions had been misunderstood.

In a November 1 statement shared with People, the domestic guru defended the look:

“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.”

But that explanation apparently wasn't enough. Hours later, Stewart returned to Instagram with a more direct apology, acknowledging that her first statement had missed the mark.

This time, Stewart admitted she had gotten it wrong:

“It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up. My earlier statement didn’t go far enough. I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry.”

For actor and model Indya Moore, however, Stewart's explanation raised more questions than it answered. The Pose star wasn't convinced that dressing as someone experiencing poverty qualified as raising awareness.

Moore wasn't buying Stewart's reasoning:

“A rich woman dressing up as a hungry, homeless person brings more awareness to how out of touch and apathetic wealth makes people than it does motivate people to empathize and activate.”

Moore also challenged Stewart's earlier defense, suggesting the media mogul was more concerned with how people interpreted her intentions than why the portrayal was offensive.

Then came the charitable receipts—or at least an attempt to provide some.

Stewart's representative told the New York Times that she had recently donated to God's Love We Deliver, a nonprofit she has supported for years. The only catch? The organization provides free, medically tailored meals to people living with serious illnesses, not specifically those experiencing homelessness.

The donation was real, but the charity's mission didn't quite align with the cause Stewart claimed she was trying to spotlight.

Naturally, the internet wasn't about to let this holiday disaster disappear with a deleted Instagram post. Critics had thoughts, defenders had counterarguments, and Stewart's apology became a debate of its own.

Here's how social media weighed in:

And Stewart wasn't the only celebrity keeping publicists busy this spooky season. Jessica Alba also faced backlash for recreating the aftermath of figure skater Nancy Kerrigan's infamous 1994 attack, complete with a bloodied knee bandage and a friend dressed as Tonya Harding.

You can view Alba's controversial costume below:

Alba reportedly deleted the photos amid criticism over her portrayal of a real-life assault. Others defended the look, arguing that the decades-old skating scandal had already been dramatized in films.

One commenter drew a direct comparison between Alba and Stewart's questionable choices:

“Wow, first Martha and now Jessica. Why are we being nasty this Halloween?”

Meanwhile, Julia Fox and reality star McCall DaPron also faced criticism for dressing as Jackie Kennedy in bloodied pink suits referencing President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Because apparently, when you've exhausted every witch, vampire, and pop culture reference imaginable, the next logical step is one of America's most traumatic historical moments.

Then again, Julianne Hough set a pretty spectacularly low bar in 2013 when she showed up to a Halloween party in blackface as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren from Orange Is the New Black. Some costume decisions age badly. Others were indefensible before anyone even left the house.

At this rate, next Halloween's hottest celebrity accessory might just be a publicist with veto power.