Craig Melvin finds himself at center of controversy as Martha Stewart lays blame

Today star Craig Melvin found himself at the center of controversy after Martha Stewart claimed that he was the reason for her questionable Halloween costume, which sparked outrage on social media.

Martha dressed as a homeless person for a Halloween party after appearing on the Today show to film a cooking segment with Craig and his co-stars.

During an onstage appearance at the CrossCountry Mortgage Sales Rally on Tuesday, Martha blamed Craig for forcing her to change her Halloween costume at the last minute, after he “spilled chocolate all over the sweater” on-air.

© Today/NBC

“I was gonna wear [it] on Halloween night,” Martha said, per footage from TMZ. “When I picked up the sweater, I said, ‘Oh, God, it’s so dirty [and] I only have 10 minutes to get dressed for this Halloween party,'” she continued. 

“The easiest costume was to get dressed up as, you know, a bum. I looked at myself. I said, ‘You really look hungry and homeless.’ So I wrote a sign that said, ‘I’m hungry.'”

“Boy, did that go off [on social media],” she added, referring to the immediate backlash from the insensitive costume.

Martha Stewart’s costume mishap revealed 

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The spillage occurred on Friday’s episode of Today, when Craig was dressed as Martha’s close friend, Snoop Dogg. While decorating a cheesecake, Craig handed a piping bag filled with chocolate ganache to Martha, and it spilled on her white pants.

“I’m so sorry, Martha,” Craig said, before later adding: “I just feel so bad that I destroyed your $3,000 pants.”

Learn more about Martha’s life below…

“Don’t worry about it; they wash,” the 85-year-old laughed. Martha quickly took down the photo of her costume after she received immense backlash from social media users, who pointed out that she was insensitive for imitating a homeless person despite her $400 million net worth.

“Why in the hell would you even think about wearing that as a costume?” one person wrote in response to her post, while another added: “Why would she do that? Who did she think would find that funny? Billionaires?”

“Why do you think poor people who are dying on the side of the road are a costume?” a third asked, while a fourth wrote: “Read the room, Martha, people are struggling out here.”

Martha Stewart’s Halloween statement 

“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,” Martha said in a statement.

© Getty Images for Emma Grede

“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,” she concluded. 

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The businesswoman issued a second apology on Sunday that read: “It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up.”

“My earlier statement didn’t go far enough. I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry.”