The costume and the backlash
Martha Stewart addressed criticism on Sunday over a Halloween outfit that portrayed a person living without shelter and going hungry. In a statement to NBC News, she said she was upset to discover that the look, which she had intended to draw attention to homelessness, had upset people and that causing offense had never been her aim.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
The image showed Stewart in ragged clothing, grasping a clipboard whose message declared that she was hungry and asked for assistance. She wore a weary expression and makeup designed to resemble grime on her face. The picture appeared as the third slide of an Instagram carousel promoting her candle line sold through QVC, captioned with a note that the candles suited Halloween. The post came down soon after, though the costume and the reaction kept spreading online.[S1]
Numerous observers read the outfit as a jab at people living in poverty, with some describing it as disconnected from reality and bleak. The criticism spread widely enough that Stewart issued her response the following day.[S1]
Stewart's explanation and pledge
In her statement, Stewart described homelessness as among the most serious difficulties the United States faces and as a continuing emergency. She said the issue matters greatly to her and that she has devoted considerable time and energy to backing organizations that fight what she called an ongoing social epidemic. She also said she intends to keep working to make a difference.[S1][S8]
Other costumes that drew criticism
Stewart wasn't the only one criticized over Halloween attire. McCall DaPron, a content creator slated to appear on the Orange County spinoff of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, also faced complaints that weekend about her family's outfits. In a since-deleted Instagram post, she posed in a pink blazer, skirt and pillbox hat matching Jackie Kennedy's look from the day President John F. Kennedy was killed. She held red roses beside her husband, Kirk DaPron, costumed as the president; two children dressed as Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr., and two more as Secret Service agents. The caption, later removed, said Happy Halloween with a pink heart and The Kennedy's.[S1]
Participants in a Reddit discussion thread labeled the costume disgusting and disrespectful. One commenter noted having seen the outfit a few times, called Jackie O a fashion icon and the look her most recognizable, and described the choice as rather macabre, adding that involving the children was especially strange. Representatives for DaPron did not respond immediately to a request for comment.[S1]
That reaction mirrored the pushback actor and model Julia Fox received a year earlier for her Jackie Kennedy costume featuring the bloodstained suit. Fox addressed the controversy in an Instagram post, saying she had worn the look as a statement rather than a costume, and noting that Kennedy had refused to change out of her bloodied clothing after her husband was killed.[S1]
