Martha Stewart faces backlash over Halloween costume portraying homelessness

Martha Stewart posted an Instagram apology after deleting photos of a Halloween costume that featured torn clothing, dirt on her face and a cardboard sign meant to represent an unhoused person. The apology, posted on Sunday, read: "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."

Actress Indya Moore, known for the series "Pose," responded with a comment that the costume was a display of wealth out of touch with the realities of homelessness. She wrote, "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," and suggested that Stewart use her platform to support policies such as higher taxes on the rich, free food, healthcare and education.

Moore also described Stewart's apology as a "manipulative counterattack," arguing that questioning the intentions of a wealthy white woman wearing poverty as a costume is reasonable, and that an apology that turns into an interrogation of followers is not genuine.

While some Instagram users defended Stewart, calling the costume "no big deal," many others condemned the gesture and the subsequent apology, saying it highlighted a disconnect between wealthy individuals and the broader population. Comments on Stewart's personal and branded Instagram accounts called the apology "tone-deaf" and accused her of using the controversy to promote her own products rather than addressing homelessness.

The incident has sparked a broader discussion on how public figures should engage with social issues, with critics urging Stewart to take concrete actions rather than symbolic gestures.