Martha Stewart said on Sunday that she was distressed that her Halloween costume of a homeless person offended many people. She said the costume was meant to raise awareness of homelessness rather than make fun of it.
The 85-year-old lifestyle entrepreneur shared the photo on Instagram on Saturday, October 31, and then deleted it amid online backlash, according to People.
“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,” Stewart told Page Six.
“Homelessness continues to remain one of America’s greatest challenges and ongoing crises, something that I care deeply about and I have spent a significant amount of time and effort supporting charities that combat this ongoing social epidemic,” she added.
Stewart also said she would continue her efforts, according to Rolling Stone and TMZ. NBC News reported that she gave the same remarks. However, the published parts of her statement did not mention the charities she supports.
The picture showed Stewart in rags, a beanie, and ripped jeans with makeup to make her look dirty. According to Parade, she posed on her porch with her dogs. On the other hand, she was holding a clipboard with the sign “I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!”.
It was part of an Instagram carousel that promoted candles Stewart sells on QVC. “My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!” she wrote in the caption, as per NBC News.
However, the followers saved screenshots of the picture before it was deleted. The picture quickly went viral on social media, including Reddit. People saw the costume as mocking the people who lived in poverty, and some even called it “dystopian,” NBC News reported.
“Rich people using poverty as a costume will never not disgust me,” one of the commenters wrote, as per Yahoo Entertainment. Another person on X said, “What on earth was Martha Stewart thinking with that Halloween outfit?” Parade reported.
Moreover, other Instagram users flooded the comments section on Stewart’s later posts asking for an explanation, as per Hollywood Life. Stewart returned to Instagram on Sunday morning posting about saffron.
In her statement, Stewart also mentioned that she had been teaching people how to celebrate Halloween through recipes, crafts, and entertainment tips for decades. She called it one of her “favorite holidays of the year.”
Stewart is famous for wearing elaborate Halloween costumes. In 2024, she wore a Queen Elizabeth I dress for the cover of her yearly Halloween magazine issue, according to Marie Claire. Her previous costumes included a sorceress and a black widow spider. Just before this year’s holiday, she appeared on NBC’s Today show with Halloween party ideas, as per Variety.
The scandal occurs amid the persistent homelessness crisis in the United States. A report released on May 29 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that 745,652 people were homeless during one night in January 2025, including 266,320 unsheltered people.
The figure represents a 3% decrease from 2024, when the annual count was 771,480 people. This is the highest number since national data started in 2007, as noted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Moreover, the department also reported that homelessness increased by 27% between 2013 and 2025.
