Multimillionaire Martha Stewart sparks outrage as she dresses as a hungry beggar for Halloween... but says costume was done to shed light on homelessness

Multimillionaire Martha Stewart has sparked backlash after sharing a Halloween post that appeared to show her dressed as a hungry beggar.

The 85-year-old lifestyle guru posted an image on Instagram showing her in tattered clothing with dirt caked on her face and holding a cardboard sign that read, 'I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!'

The photo was included in a carousel promoting her QVC holiday and Halloween candles that was captioned, 'My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!!!' 

Stewart, who has an estimated net worth of $400 million, deleted the image but the post made the rounds online and was branded 'disgusting', 'disappointing', and 'tone-deaf' by horrified netizens. 

Stewart has now addressed the controversial image in a statement obtained by The Daily Mail, insisting she didn't intend on offending anyone but rather had hoped to 'bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness' with her costume. 

While Stewart said she was 'distressed' knowing the pain her costume had caused others, she never actually apologized.  

'I've spent decades teaching others how to celebrate Halloween — sharing fun, festive recipes, providing unique craft ideas, and giving tips on entertaining and hosting to make the most of one of my favorite holidays of the year,' she said in the statement. 

Martha Stewart has sparked backlash after sharing a Halloween post that appeared to show her dressed as a hungry beggar

The photo was included in a carousel promoting her QVC holiday and Halloween candles. Above, Stewart looking glam on October 19 at an event in New York City

'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.

'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.

'I am committed to continuing to make a difference.'

Social media users were quick to capture the image and share it across Reddit and X.

The apparent gag came off as especially insensitive given that Stewart is worth an estimated $400 million.

For a time, she was the first female self-made billionaire in the US in 1999 when her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Her impressive cache took a sharp decline following insider trading charges and a five-month prison sentence in 2004, and later market fluctuations for her company.

Stewart's current wealth stems from real estate, book publications, media projects and brand partnerships, per Tasting Table.

The media mogul's latest scandal comes after she scolded Craig Melvin for spilling chocolate ganache on her $3,000 designer white pants during a Halloween cooking segment on Today.

Stewart was dressed in an all-white ensemble that matched the outfit she wore to the 2024 Paris Olympics while Melvin was dressed up as her best friend Snoop Dogg.

The apparent gag came off as especially insensitive given that Stewart is worth an estimated $400 million

For a time, she was the first female self-made billionaire in the US in 1999 when her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Above, Stewart in 2007

Stewart's current wealth stems from real estate, book publications, media projects and brand partnerships. Above, Stewart on September 16

Carson Daly went as Choosin' Texas singer Ella Langley and Savannah Guthrie borrowed a look from an NBC page for the show's 100th anniversary Halloween celebration.

The segment featured Stewart showing the crew how to decorate cheesecake with a chocolate ganache spider web, and it quickly went awry when she couldn't find the crucial ingredient.

'Uh oh. Somebody forgot the chocolate ganache,' Stewart said.

'Oh, there it is,' she added.

'It’s right here,' Melvin said, picking it up and holding it out to Stewart.

The piping bag then started to leak ganache on Stewart's luxury pants, and the celebrity chef's horror was written all over her face.

'Whoa!' they exclaimed together as Daly and Guthrie looked on in apparent shock.

'Eeeeh! Snoop!' she chided her equally horror-struck helper Melvin, who did his best to get out of Stewart's way and even wandered off at another point during the taping.

The media mogul's latest scandal comes after she scolded Craig Melvin - dressed up as her best friend Snoop Dogg - for spilling chocolate ganache on her $3,000 designer white pants during a Halloween cooking segment on Today

The media mogul had to wear the chocolate-stained pants - and shoe - for the rest of the taping on October 30

'I'm so sorry, Martha,' Melvin said, before covering his mouth with his hand.

'Good thing you're best friends,' Daly jokingly commented.

'Real Snoop would never do that,' Stewart chided Melvin.

Earlier this month, Stewart rubbed people the wrong way again when she shot down the notion of a traditional 9-to-5 job or work-life balance.

During a live appearance on Richer Lives by SoFi podcast with financial expert Vivian Tu, Stewart called people who try to achieve 'balance' as 'boring' with 'thick skulls.'

When asked how she juggles her personal life with her vast media and business empire, Stewart replied there is 'no such thing.'

'Just get that through your thick skulls. You can't balance it, it doesn't balance,' she asserted.

'This thing about balance, I don't know who thought about that, but it just doesn't work. Maybe infrequently, and I'm jealous of those people, but they're all so boring,' Stewart went on.

'You're gonna get divorced if you're going to get divorced. You're going to get married three times if you're going to get married three times. It just doesn't work out.'