Martha Stewart has apologized after a Halloween photo showing her dressed as a homeless person prompted widespread criticism on social media.

In a statement posted Sunday, the lifestyle entrepreneur acknowledged that the costume was “insensitive and not funny.”

“It’s difficult to acknowledge when you have truly made a serious mistake,” Stewart wrote in a message shared on Instagram and signed “Martha.” “My first response was not enough. I understand that many people are facing economic hardship. The costume I wore was insensitive and not funny. I am deeply sorry.”

Stewart was recognized in August by Forbes as one of its 250 greatest self-made Americans. She has built a wide-ranging media business and developed numerous brands around her expertise in lifestyle, cooking and entertaining.

According to an online screengrab, the now-deleted image showed Stewart in a worn sweater and jeans, with makeup smeared across her face. She was holding a sign that read, “I am hungry. Help me.”

Following the backlash, Stewart initially told the New York Post’s Page Six that the outfit was meant to draw attention to the serious issue of homelessness.

“I am upset that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to raise awareness about the very serious issue of homelessness, offended people,” Stewart said in her initial response. “That was never my intention.”

She added that homelessness remains “one of America’s greatest challenges and ongoing crises,” saying she cares deeply about the issue and has devoted considerable time and resources to charities working to address it.

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The 85-year-old television personality later shared her second apology on Instagram, where followers responded with a mix of support and criticism.

“There are more people upset about your costume than there are people willing to actually help homeless people,” one commenter wrote.

Another commenter said the image only highlighted “how disconnected wealthy people are from the majority of the population.”

ABC News has contacted a representative for Stewart seeking additional comment.

More than 745,000 people experienced homelessness in the United States during a single night in January 2025, according to the 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the report in May.

The agency reported that homelessness nationwide rose 27% between 2013 and 2025. During that period, unsheltered homelessness, which includes people living on the streets, increased by 36%.

An innocent social media post by a Florida pilot about flying Lenny Kravitz accidentally fueled alarming online rumors that the singer had died in a plane crash over the weekend.

Nathalia Gadelha, 20, was serving as co-pilot aboard a Learjet 60 when the aircraft crashed near West Palm Beach on Sunday.

The jet reportedly banked at a 60-degree angle, leaving it flying almost sideways, before erupting into a fireball beside the road. All nine people aboard were killed.

Following the tragedy, Kravitz, 62, began trending across social media as fans wrongly assumed he was among those killed. The confusion stemmed from a pilot’s post about flying the musician along the same route as the doomed jet.

‘The reports [of Kravitz’s death] are untrue and incorrect,’ Kravitz’s rep, Carleen Donovan told The Daily Mail on Monday.

Rumors that Kravitz had been aboard the aircraft spread rapidly after a female pilot, incorrectly identified online as the jet’s pilot, said she would be flying him along the Learjet 60’s flight path.

In a post that has since been deleted, Emily Shelton wrote: ‘Honored to be flying the one and only Lenny Kravitz from [Austin-Bergstrom International Airport] to [North Eleuthera Airport, Bahamas] tomorrow. 

‘Looking forward to having him on board. It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over is gonna be playing in the cockpit.’

Shelton later addressed the speculation on TikTok, explaining that she was not the pilot involved in the crash: ‘I was recently made aware that there are rumors that I was the pilot of the recent crash in Palm Beach.

‘I would like to respectfully clarify I was not. I ask that people please stop speculating and spreading misinformation on this tragedy and be respectful of those involved.

‘My heart goes out to all those lost and affected.’

Relatives of co-pilot Gadelha confirmed to The New York Post that she was at the controls when the aircraft plunged to the ground.

Gadelha was raised in Palm Beach County and appeared in a local news report after earning her pilot’s license in 2023, when she was 17.

Speaking to CBS12, she said: ‘I definitely do brag because people say, “Oh, you can’t drive,” and I’m like, “Yeah, but I can fly”.’

Her mother, Camila, frequently posted photos of Gadelha and her siblings traveling on private aircraft. Her father, Allan, also held a pilot’s license.

Camila told The New York Times: ‘She loved the freedom. It was completely different seeing the world from the top.’ 

The man, who has not been identified, could be heard saying ‘who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name’ in air traffic control audio released in the wake of Sunday’s crash in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

While the man prayed, Gadelha could be heard saying that the Learjet 60 had banked 60 degrees, meaning it was flying sideways. 

Moments later, the plane crashed in a fireball by the side of the road, killing all nine people who were on board. 

The identities of the rest onboard have yet to be released, with officials set to hold a press conference and share more information later on Monday.

Initial speculation has pointed to stormy weather as a possible cause for the crash, which happened as the $2 million business jet was flying from Austin in Texas to the Bahamas. 

Some aviation experts have suggested the plane may have fallen foul of ‘coffin corner’ while trying to climb above two storm systems, known as cells. 

Coffin corner is a phenomenon whereby the jet’s minimum safe speed and maximum safe speed converge into a very narrow range at high altitude, making it extremely difficult to fly safely. 

If the plane goes too slow or too fast it will stall and quickly become uncontrollable. 

Former pilot Martin Varsavsky, who now runs his own AI firm, posted to X saying that he believed that bad weather in the area could have caused the fatal error. 

He said: ‘The radars clearly showed those cells; in light jets, the rule is to deviate with a good margin, not to fly through them – this could be an error by the woman who was piloting. 

‘What storms do by changing the outside temperature is that airplanes can no longer stay aloft at the same speed. It’s called the coffin corner. Or they become very difficult to keep under control.’ 

Weather conditions in the West Palm Beach area on Sunday afternoon were poor, overcast with rain and lightning in the area and winds from the east at 15 mph, gusting to near 25 mph. The National Weather Service in Miami said visibility was seven miles.

The flight had set off from Austin, Texas, bound for North Eleuthera in the Bahamas before its path abruptly ended just near West Palm Beach, according to flight data.

The impact left debris scattered across a significant distance and a massive crater in the road, but authorities said nobody on the ground was injured or killed in the crash.

The Trump administration made an eleventh-hour appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday, urging the justices to require California to segregate 20,000 mail-in ballots that officials allege were cast by noncitizens—just one day before the midterm elections.

“Once California commingles the challenged ballots with lawful ones, there is no way to get the challenged ballots back,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote. “The only way to preserve the district court’s ability to grant relief to the United States after a full merits proceeding, therefore, is to segregate the challenged ballots now.”

Sauer described the request as a “modest remedy.”

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The emergency application followed a divided ruling by a Ninth Circuit panel, which rejected the Justice Department’s effort to impound the ballots.

In October, the DOJ provided Los Angeles County election officials with a list of 20,000 names. County officials said 7,035 of those names were linked to Los Angeles County addresses, while some individuals on the list were confirmed to be U.S.-born citizens.

The California Post has contacted the offices of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta for comment.

The copilot of a private jet that crashed into a South Florida neighborhood Sunday, killing all nine people aboard, was identified as a 20-year-old aspiring commercial airline pilot who earned her pilot’s license before she obtained a driver’s license, according to a report.

Nathalia Gadelha’s mother and stepfather told the New York Post that she was serving as copilot aboard the Learjet 60 when it went down in a Palm Beach County residential area. The aircraft was flying from Texas to the Bahamas.

Gadelha, a Palm Beach County native, first attracted attention in 2023 after earning her private pilot’s license at age 17 while she was a student at West Boca Raton High School.

“I definitely do brag because people say, ‘Oh, you can’t drive,’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I can fly,’” she told local station CBS12 in 2023.

She started flight training in 2020 and also received instruction from her father, who had taken up recreational flying in 2018, the outlet reported.

According to the 2023 report, Gadelha logged 88 hours in the air while working toward her private pilot’s license. Her training was funded by the School District of Palm Beach County’s Aviation Academy.

The young pilot later graduated from American Flyers, a flight school headquartered in Addison, Texas, which also operates a location in Pompano Beach, Florida, the Post reported.

During her interview with CBS12, Gadelha said her goal was to become a commercial airline pilot.

In a recent social media post cited by the Post, Gadelha shared video of herself flying with her boyfriend, Justin, and celebrated the aviation milestones they had reached at a young age.

“How often do you see 2 pilots under 21 with a commercial, multi-engine, instrument, CFI/CFI-I,” she wrote, pointing to their commercial and multiengine qualifications, instrument ratings and flight-instructor certifications.

The Learjet 60 took off from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was bound for North Eleuthera Airport in the Bahamas when it crashed near Cresthaven, Florida, at about 12:50 p.m. Sunday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed Sunday afternoon that all nine people aboard the private jet died in the crash.

Recordings of air traffic control communications captured by LiveATC.net showed the crew reporting ice buildup and turbulence before the aircraft began a rapid descent, The Associated Press reported.

“We have light, clear ice that is manageable and moderate turbulence,” a pilot told controllers.

The crew subsequently requested permission to climb another 2,000 feet before declaring an emergency as the aircraft plunged toward the ground.

“We’re descending 8,000 — mayday, mayday — we’re descending 10,000 feet per minute,” a pilot radioed, according to the AP.

“We are in an overspeed condition descending 20,000 feet per minute,” the pilot continued, before warning, “We’re going to crash into the ground.”

Dashcam footage captured the jet plunging nose-first into the neighborhood, as News Media previously reported.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described the crash as “cataclysmic.”

The crash also forced the evacuation of approximately 600 people from a nearby mobile home community, according to local officials.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The cause has not been determined, and NTSB officials are expected to provide an update Monday.