Today: Martha Stewart Clarifies Halloween Costume Controversy

After making headlines for her controversial Halloween costume, Martha Stewart stopped by Today to clear up the record.

Stewart posted, then deleted, a photo of herself dressed as a “hungry” person in need on Halloween. Speaking at an event earlier this week, Stewart said she had to improvise her costume after Craig Melvin spilled chocolate on her outfit during a Today Halloween cooking segment on Friday, October 30. Stewart joined Melvin on the NBC morning show, as he was dressed as her famous pal Snoop Dogg for the hosts’ annual costume reveal.

“What’s his name on the Today show? Craig, who played Snoop on the Today show on Friday, he spilled chocolate all over my sweater, which I was gonna wear on Halloween night,” she said in event footage posted by TMZ. “And so, when I picked up the sweater, I said, ‘Oh, God. It’s so dirty. I only have 10 minutes to get dressed for this Halloween party.’ So, the easiest costume was to get dressed up as, you know, a bum.”

On the Friday, November 6, episode of Today, Melvin gave Stewart the chance to clarify the controversy. “It was Saturday, and it was Halloween, and I was invited to a party. I was very busy all day, doing a lot of gardening. We’re planting lots of trees up at the farm, and I really hadn’t planned a Halloween costume this year,” she said. “Usually, I’m a very elaborate Halloween costumer. I’ve had the most beautiful costumes over the years, and they’re all online. You can look at them.”

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Recalling the Today cooking segment mishap, she continued, “I didn’t have a costume because you had spilled some chocolate on my white sweater, and I don’t blame you at all. It was a joke that I said I blamed you. It was stupid.”

Stewart said she sent a photo of her homeless person costume to her grandson before she posted it, and that he called her look “tone deaf.” She noted, “It was just stupid, and I apologized because I was not making fun of anybody or making light of the great problems that face our country. And I certainly hope our new administration takes big steps to repair a lot of the damage that’s being done, and the poor and the hungry and everyone else is taken care of better.”

Melvin went on to ask, “And why was I dragged into it?” Stewart responded, “I was making a joke. I was giving a talk, and I just made a joke that you spilled chocolate on me, and so I couldn’t wear that costume, which I had planned to wear on Halloween night, to this party.”

Melvin said he apologized for spilling the chocolate sauce on Stewart and that they’ve since moved on. Stewart also assured the host that the on-air mishap had nothing to do with her controversial costume choice.

“I’ll pay closer attention to social issues. I’m aware of all the social issues, as you can imagine, and I care desperately about all the problems facing us. But I made a mistake. I mean, it was stupid. What else can I say? What else can I say?” Stewart stated. “I’m so sorry, and I hope that my followers and my fans and the rest of America forgives me for doing something that was not meant in any way to be a bad thing.”

Melvin wrapped up the segment by asking, “So, Martha Stewart wants to move on, and she’s apologized?” She answered, “Absolutely. Thank you, and thank you for letting me say it on TV, on my favorite show.”

Today, Weekdays, 7am/6c, NBC