Martha Stewart reveals the ‘minor’ prison incident that landed her in solitary confinement
The cooking show host was placed in a minimum-security facility for five months from October 2004 to March 2005
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Martha Stewart has spoken about her day in solitary confinement while serving time at Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia.
The 83-year-old cooking connoisseur was sent to the minimum-security correctional facility for five months from October 2004 to March 2005 after she was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction, and lying to federal investigators about insider trading.
During her time behind bars, Stewart recalled being involved in an altercation with a security guard, which she recalls in her forthcoming Netflix documentary, Martha, set to be released on October 30.
In a letter she wrote from the correctional facility, Stewart details her day. “Today I saw two very well-dressed ladies walking and I breezed by them, remarking on the beautiful warm morning and how nice they looked,” she wrote.
“When I realized from the big silver key chain that they were guards, I lightly brushed the chain. Later I was called in to be told never, ever touch a guard without expecting severe reprimand,” Stewart continued in the letter that’s read aloud in the documentary.
The TV personality said she apologized but didn’t expect anything further to come from it because “the incident was so minor when it occurred.”
However, Stewart says she was later “dragged” into solitary confinement “for touching an officer.”
“No food or water for a day. This was Camp Cupcake, remember? That was the nickname. Camp Cupcake. It was not a cupcake,” she said of the conditions.
Stewart said her bed at the prison was a “double-decker bedstead metal spring and metal frame.” While she had hoped to sleep on the top bunk, she wasn’t allowed because of her age.
“Over 62 years old and you automatically are given a lower bunk,” she said.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons declined to address allegations from 2004 but said the bureau “confines offenders in facilities that are safe and humane.”
“Every individual is provided with the basic necessities of life including regular meals three times a day and access to potable water regardless of where they are housed,” they added in a statement to People magazine.
Elsewhere in her eponymous documentary, Stewart subtly admits to cheating on her ex-husband, Andrew Stewart. Promotional videos for Martha show the businesswoman facing the camera as the interviewer off-screen asks: “Didn’t you have an affair early on?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew about that,” she responds.
Shortly after news of her affair leaked, People sat down with Stewart to question where she and Andy stand now. According to her, the two haven’t spoken in “over 20 years” after parting ways in 1990.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments