Martha Stewart is facing backlash after sharing a Halloween image that appeared to depict her dressed as a hungry beggar.
The 85-year-old lifestyle personality posted a photo on Instagram showing herself in torn clothing, with dirt covering her face and a cardboard sign reading, “I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!”
The controversial image appeared in a carousel advertising Stewart’s QVC holiday and Halloween candle collection.
“My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!!!” she wrote in the caption before deleting the post shortly afterward.
Stewart has not explained whether the image was intended to portray a hungry beggar or why she removed it.
The Daily Mail has contacted Stewart’s representative for comment.
Martha Stewart has drawn criticism after posting a Halloween image that appeared to show her dressed as a hungry beggar
The image was part of a carousel promoting her QVC holiday and Halloween candles. Above, Stewart attends an event in New York City on October 19
Social media users quickly saved the image and circulated it on Reddit and X.
According to TMZ, critics described the costume as “gross,” “offensive” and “out of touch,” accusing Stewart of using poverty and homelessness as a marketing gimmick.
The apparent joke drew particular criticism because Stewart is estimated to have a net worth of $400 million.
In 1999, she became the first female self-made billionaire in the United States for a period after her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Her fortune later suffered a significant setback following insider trading charges, a five-month prison sentence in 2004 and subsequent market fluctuations involving her company.
Her wealth now comes from a range of sources, including real estate, book publishing, media ventures and brand partnerships, according to Tasting Table.
The latest controversy follows Stewart’s tense exchange with Craig Melvin after he spilled chocolate ganache on her $3,000 designer white trousers during a Halloween cooking segment on Today.
Stewart wore an all-white outfit similar to the ensemble she wore at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Melvin dressed as her close friend Snoop Dogg.
Carson Daly dressed as Choosin’ Texas singer Ella Langley, while Savannah Guthrie recreated an outfit worn by an NBC page for the program’s 100th anniversary Halloween celebration.
During the segment, Stewart taught the Today crew how to decorate a cheesecake with a chocolate ganache spider web. The demonstration soon ran into trouble when the key ingredient could not be found.
“Uh oh. Somebody forgot the chocolate ganache,” Stewart said.
“Oh, there it is,” she added.
‘It’s right here,’ Melvin said, picking it up and holding it out to Stewart.
The piping bag then started to leak ganache on Stewart’s luxury pants, and the celebrity chef’s horror was written all over her face.
‘Whoa!’ they exclaimed together.
‘Eeeeh! Snoop!’ she chided her equally horror-struck helper.
‘I’m so sorry, Martha,’ Melvin said, before covering his mouth with his hand.
‘Good thing you’re best friends,’ Daly jokingly commented.
‘Real Snoop would never do that,’ Stewart chided Melvin.
Earlier this month, Stewart rubbed people the wrong way again when she shot down the notion of a traditional 9-to-5 job or work-life balance.
During a live appearance on Richer Lives by SoFi podcast with financial expert Vivian Tu, Stewart called people who try to achieve ‘balance’ as ‘boring’ with ‘thick skulls.’
When asked how she juggles her personal life with her vast media and business empire, Stewart replied there is ‘no such thing.’
‘Just get that through your thick skulls. You can’t balance it, it doesn’t balance,’ she asserted.
‘This thing about balance, I don’t know who thought about that, but it just doesn’t work. Maybe infrequently, and I’m jealous of those people, but they’re all so boring,’ Stewart went on.
‘You’re gonna get divorced if you’re going to get divorced. You’re going to get married three times if you’re going to get married three times. It just doesn’t work out.’