Photo via New York Post

Martha Stewart apologizes for homeless Halloween costume: ‘Insensitive and not funny’

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Bueno, A. (2026, November 2). Martha Stewart apologizes for homeless Halloween costume: ‘Insensitive and not funny’. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/11/01/celebrity-news/martha-stewart-apologizes-for-homeless-halloween-costume/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-02 · by Antoinette Bueno

Quick Summary

Martha Stewart apologized for her controversial Halloween costume that depicted a homeless person, acknowledging it was insensitive and not funny. She initially posted the photo on Instagram with the caption "My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!", which drew widespread criticism before she deleted it. In her apology, Stewart claimed the costume was intended to raise awareness about homelessness but admitted it had offended people instead. The incident has sparked debate online, with some condemning her insensitivity and others defending her choice as a form of historical context.
Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 1, 2026, Martha Stewart faced backlash after sharing — and quickly deleting — an Instagram photo of herself dressed as a homeless person for Halloween. The costume included tattered clothing, dirt smeared across her face, and a sign that read "I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!" This image was part of a carousel promoting her candle collection on QVC. Social media users criticized Stewart's costume as offensive and insensitive to the homeless community.

In response to the backlash, Stewart released a statement through Page Six saying she intended to raise awareness about homelessness but acknowledged that her actions had caused offense. On November 2, 2026, Stewart issued another apology, stating that her Halloween costume was "insensitive and not funny," reflecting an understanding of the negative impact it had on people's perceptions.

Written for “Martha Stewart Addresses Halloween Costume Backlash” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 122234: attributed speech only · logged 2026-11-02

Story

📰 Martha Stewart Addresses Halloween Costume Backlash
Entertainment · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
NBC News
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 60/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 69/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 27 claims Outlet record 61/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15998 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Antoinette Bueno
76 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 “It would either be all or nothing,” she said of the occasion, which she noted is indefinitely on hold until after the year is over.
🔮 They split in May after more than a year together, with a source telling Page Six at the time, “There have been problems throughout their relationship and things are not good between them at all.
🔮 They also noted in the caption that In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.
🔮 She was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2014, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a degenerative disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred, making it hard to breathe.
🔮 Shepard, according to Bell, will tell their waiter or waitress, “Wow, you have incredible eyelashes, gorgeous eyes.
🔮 “No amount of noise in this world will ever overshadow the joy of being your mama,” she wrote.
🔮 In May, Camille said she hadn’t spoken to Kelsey in 14 years during her appearance on the “Humble Brad” podcast, adding that they don’t co-parent their two children together, but rather do “parallel parenting.”
🔮 Towns joked to Harington, “I would bend the knee, but my knee hurts right now,” referencing Harington’s character on the HBO hit, Jon Snow, memorably refusing to bend the knee to Emilia Clarke’s character, Daenerys Targaryen. Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! Towns also told the British actor that he was rewatching the series with Woods — who was on the court as well during the interaction — before Towns politely asked to get a picture with him.
🔮 “They will resent you for it and nothing will ever be enough and they’ll always somehow try to paint you as the bad guy,” he continued.
🔮 Last month, Klum told People she was already working on her Halloween getup and gave a hint about what it could be. “It goes very well with red wine,” she told the outlet.
Also by Antoinette Bueno
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 76 articles by Antoinette Bueno →

Topics

Instagram Notes Page Six Page Six Daily QVC

Subjects

Stewart PERSON · 5× America GPE · 1× Hobo PERSON · 1× Instagram ORG · 1× Kmart ORG · 1× Martha PERSON · 1× MasterClass ORG · 1× Page Six ORG · 1× Page Six Daily ORG · 1× QVC ORG · 1×

Narrative

Stewart told Page Six in a statement that her costume was intended to bring “awareness” to the issue of homelessness. “I am distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness, has offended people, which was never my intention,” she shared.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

“I know many people are suffering economically,” she continued. asserted
she → know → ?
“Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny.” asserted
I → wear → costume
She concluded, “I am very sorry. asserted
I → conclude → ?
Reactions to the apology written on the Notes app on her phone were mixed. asserted
Reactions → write → phone
One critic commented, “Your choice reflects an utter disconnect from the desperation and suffering of so many people, especially those who are unhoused and hungry.” asserted
who → comment → people
But one fan defended her, noting, “We always dressed as ‘Hobo’s’ for Halloween in the 1970’s. asserted
We → defend → ’s
Stewart faced intense backlash after she shared — and quickly deleted — a photo of herself wearing a beanie and tattered clothing while holding a sign begging for food. asserted
herself → face → food
She also smeared dirt across her face, Want more celebrity and pop culture news? asserted
She → smear → news
“I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!” the sign, scrawled on a brown clipboard, read in her Instagram pic. asserted
sign → help → pic
The multimillionaire businesswoman captioned the post, “My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!” asserted
candles → caption → Halloween
Stewart told Page Six in a statement that her costume was intended to bring “awareness” to the issue of homelessness. “I am distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness, has offended people, which was never my intention,” she shared. asserted
she → tell → people
“Homelessness continues to remain one of America’s greatest challenges and ongoing crises, something that I care deeply about and I have spent a significant amount of time and effort supporting charities that combat this ongoing social epidemic,” she continued. asserted
she → continue → epidemic
Stewart has not been shy about talking about her money. asserted
Stewart → talk → money
Last month, she shockingly shared that she once raked in $65 million a year from Kmart royalties alone during her appearance on the “Other People’s Business” podcast. asserted
she → share → podcast
“We were selling close to $2 billion worth of merchandise,” she recalled to MasterClass CEO David Rogier. asserted
she → sell → Rogier
“That’s a lot of money. asserted
That → ’ → money
That was funding the whole development of my magazine, the whole business. asserted
That → fund → magazine
But she doesn’t live lavishly as she admitted she also “lost about a billion dollars” navigating her legal problems in the early 2000s. asserted
she → live → 2000s
Stewart was famously convicted in an insider trading scandal and served five months in prison, five more in home confinement and two years of supervised probation. asserted
Stewart → convict → probation
“The lawyers took me to the cleaners,” Stewart explained, but noted, “I’m back. asserted
I → take → cleaners
I’m pretty good.” asserted
I → ’m → ?
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support