New York, New York - Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart apologized late Sunday for an "insensitive and not funny" Halloween costume after she appeared to dress up as a homeless person.
"It's hard to admit when you've really screwed up," the 85-year-old billionaire wrote on Instagram after she deleted a photo of herself in ripped jeans, a torn sweater, and a dirtied face.
Stewart also held a clipboard that read "I Am Hungry Help Me," and social media users quickly slammed her as out of touch.
"I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry," Stewart said in a statement.
She also acknowledged that an earlier explanation, claiming she had intended to raise awareness of homelessness through her costume, "didn't go far enough."
“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," Stewart told Page Six on Sunday. "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.”
Stewart built her success in the homemaking and lifestyle industries.
Through her cookbooks, magazines, television shows, and retail housewares, Stewart became the personification of gracious living and America's most high-profile lifestyle expert.
She has popped back into pop culture recently, appearing alongside her makeup artist Daisy Toye on Bravo's reality TV show, The Real Housewives of New York City.