Martha Stewart was pressed by Craig Melvin on the TODAY programme over changing explanations for her controversial Halloween costume, after she linked the outfit to chocolate being spilled on her sweater before later changing her account.
Melvin asked Stewart to clarify what had happened, referring to the “number of different versions” she had given about the costume.
Stewart said she had hosted a Halloween party the previous weekend but had not decided what to wear. She also maintained that her suggestion that Melvin’s spilled chocolate had caused her to change costumes was a joke.
The television presenter said she had privately shared a photograph of the outfit with her grandson, who told her the costume was tone deaf. Stewart acknowledged the criticism, saying: “It was just stupid, I apologized.”
She added: “I was not making fun of anybody, or making light of the great problems that face our country.”
Melvin, who said the pair had resolved the matter, stressed that the chocolate spill had no connection to Stewart’s later costume choice. Stewart agreed, admitting: “It wasn’t your fault.”
Stewart said she would pay closer attention to social issues in future. Earlier, she had said the costume was intended to raise awareness before claiming it was a last-minute decision prompted by the spill.
After the TODAY interview, Stewart changed her explanation again, saying the costume was intended to bring attention to homelessness. Asked about the conflicting accounts, she said: “It’s a complicated story, my dear.”
