Martha Stewart Says She 'Really Screwed Up' With Homeless Costume

Her first statement said offending people was “never my intention.” Hours later, an Instagram post called the costume “insensitive and not funny.”

Martha Stewart's Halloween costume was ripped clothes, a dirt-smudged face and a clipboard that read “I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!” She posted it in an Instagram carousel selling her QVC candles, under the caption “My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!!!”

The photo came down quickly, and it took Stewart, 85, two tries to answer for it. On Sunday, The Hollywood Reporter reported her first response, a statement to People saying the costume was meant to raise awareness. Hours later, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD reported, she posted a second one on Instagram, and this time she called it a mistake.

The first statement started with her résumé. Before she got to the costume, Stewart said she'd spent decades teaching people how to celebrate Halloween, with recipes, craft ideas and hosting tips. Then she said she was “distressed” that the costume, “intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness,” had offended people, “which was never my intention.”

She called homelessness one of the country's biggest ongoing crises, said she'd given a lot of time and effort to charities fighting it, and promised to keep making a difference. KRLD noted that the statement contained no direct apology, and the criticism didn't stop. “Mocking homelessness is not okay or funny,” another critic said, in a line The Hollywood Reporter quoted.

The second post dropped the talk of awareness. In it, Stewart admitted she'd “really screwed up” and conceded that her first answer hadn't gone far enough, according to KRLD. She said she knows many people are struggling financially and called the costume “insensitive and not funny,” nearly the same words her critic had used.

Her first statement presented the photo as a push for awareness, even though it ran in a post selling candles. Her second ended on the words the first one never used: “I am very sorry.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, retrieved November 2, 2026. Other sources: audacy.com.