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Initially, the 85-year-old lifestyle mogul defended the appearance as a means to generate awareness, but she shared a more comprehensive apology hours afterward, admitting that her first reply had missed the mark.
Martha Stewart has apologized for dressing as a homeless person for Halloween, reversing course within hours of a first statement in which she described the costume as an attempt to draw attention to homelessness.
In a message posted to Instagram on Sunday, Nov. 1, the 85-year-old businesswoman said her earlier explanation had not gone far enough and called the costume insensitive and unfunny. “It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up,” she wrote, adding that she knows many people are struggling financially and that she was very sorry.
The apology capped a weekend of criticism that began with a since-deleted Instagram post and grew after her first attempt to explain it.
A costume featured in a candle promotion
The photograph depicted Stewart wearing a dark knit beanie, a cardigan, and distressed denim, her face brushed with dark cosmetic smudges while she clutched a placard stating she was famished and seeking assistance. This visual surfaced on her Instagram profile within a publication designed to advertise her scented candles. Based on information from the PA news agency, featured via RTÉ, the accompanying text marketed her QVC candles as an ideal match for the Halloween season.
Combining a destitute-themed costume with a brand promotion sparked a significant wave of outrage. Based on a Newsweek overview of the public response, individuals on X slammed the upload as insensitive and oblivious, with multiple users highlighting the high volume of Americans struggling with housing insecurity. Conversely, Men’s Journal noted that supporters came to Stewart’s defense, claiming that detractors were blowing a simple Halloween outfit entirely out of proportion. As the criticism intensified, the publication was deleted, and Stewart restricted the comment sections on several of her remaining uploads.
A preliminary remark that stopped short of an apology
Before issuing the apology, Stewart tackled the controversy during remarks shared with Page Six. She expressed distress over the offense caused by her outfit, maintained that causing upset was never her goal, and explained that the concept aimed to spotlight homelessness. Furthermore, she mentioned backing charities focused on the cause, yet omitted mentioning any specific organizations.
That explanation did little to settle critics, who questioned how a costume shared alongside merchandise could double as advocacy. Stewart repeated the point in comments under a Just Jared Instagram post, saying the outfit was meant to bring hunger and homelessness to mind but that she had not explained it well, Newsweek reported. Actor Indya Moore pushed back there, arguing that Halloween is not the moment to dress up as people living through a crisis. Hours later, Stewart published the second message, acknowledging directly that her earlier statement had been inadequate.
CNN, which covered the apology on Monday, stated that Stewart’s representatives had been reached for a statement. Newsweek noted that inquiries had been sent to her spokesperson, alongside the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Coalition for the Homeless, and the Coalition for the Homeless, while replies remained pending. By Monday, prominent media organizations covering the incident had failed to publish any public statement from homelessness advocacy organizations.
Why the costume struck a nerve
The criticism landed against a backdrop of persistently high homelessness in the United States. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest annual one-night count found 745,652 people experiencing homelessness in 2025, according to a Congressional Research Service summary of the agency’s report, which was released in May. That was a slight drop from the record 771,480 counted in 2024. More than 266,000 of the people counted in 2025 were unsheltered on the night of the survey.
Outfits transforming vulnerable or marginalized populations into mere costumes have faced continuous criticism. Back in August, Target issued an apology and withdrew a clown outfit from its inventory once detractors argued it brought to mind blackface and minstrel performance aesthetics.
Stewart’s case drew particular attention because of who she is. She built her name in the 1980s as an authority on cooking, entertaining and home life, launched Martha Stewart Living magazine in 1990 and went on to win a dozen Daytime Emmy Awards. Her career survived a 2004 conviction for lying about a stock sale, for which she served a five-month prison sentence, and in recent years she has cultivated a playful, often provocative social media presence that has drawn criticism before.
An enduring Halloween tradition
Halloween has been part of Stewart’s brand for decades. She has staged elaborate costumes over the years and features them in her magazine’s annual Halloween coverage. In 2024 she appeared on the cover of that issue as Queen Elizabeth I, in a gold gown, a white lace ruff and a crown, carrying an orb and scepter that were in fact a holiday ornament and a curtain rod, according to Marie Claire. Her editors used the look to dub her the “Queen of Halloween.”
Newsweek noted that she has also shared throwback photos of past outfits, including a haunted horsewoman from 2009 and a costume she wore to Bette Midler’s 1998 Hulaween gala. She has also described decorating the gate of her farm each year and handing visiting trick-or-treaters a mix of candy and a little cash.
That history helps clarify why this year’s outfit fell so flat among a large portion of her fanbase. Typically centered on artistry, imagination, and grandeur, Stewart’s Halloween shares took a different turn this time by casting a genuine and widespread struggle in the part of a persona while simultaneously tying it to a promotional push.
As of Monday, the original image remained deleted, and Stewart had not said whether she plans any further response, such as naming the charities she referred to in her first statement.
