Martha Stewart is supremely miffed that her past legal troubles were even mentioned in her Netflix documentary, Martha. You know, that little kerfuffle where she was accused of insider trading and then convicted of lying to the FBI after being targeted by an overzealous James Comey that resulted in a two-month prison sentence. Why on earth would anyone want to put that in a biographical documentary! Martha hasn’t forgotten that period, though she’d very much like you to. Martha also hasn’t forgotten the NY Post columnist who covered her 20 years ago, though she has forgotten the woman’s real name. And the fact that she’s still alive. During an interview segment in the doc, Martha declares it a very good thing that “New York Post lady” is dead. Which of course prompted said “lady,” aka Andrea Peyser, to clap back with: “I’m alive, bitch!” Excellent, no notes.
Martha Stewart mistakenly killed off a journalist mentioned in her new Netflix documentary, Martha.
In the film, which aired on Oct. 30, Stewart, 83, claimed Andrea Peyser — a New York Post columnist who covered Stewart’s infamous 2004 trial — was “dead now, thank goodness.” Except, she isn’t.
Peyser used her latest column for the newspaper to declare, “I’m alive, bitch!” Peyser, who started working for New York Post in 1989, has published at least eight other stories in 2024.
Stewart was convicted for lying to the FBI during an insider-trading investigation in 2004.
“Guilty, guilty, guilty on all these counts of whatever,” she said in Martha. “My daughter, she fainted when they read the verdict. Poor child.”
Stewart referred to Peyser as simply “New York Post lady” and recalls seeing her in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. In her latest story, Peyser confirmed she “wrote weeks of Post columns” during that time.
“New York Post lady was there, just looking so smug,” said Stewart. “She had written horrible things during the entire trial. But she is dead now, thank goodness. And nobody has to put up with the crap she was writing all the time.”
“News of my passing came as a shock,” said Peyser of her “uncredited cameo appearance.”
“But rather than feeling angry or worried that Martha has offed me, or to seek an emergency order of protection, I am overwhelmingly sad in the face of Martha’s bitterness.”
It is unclear why Stewart believed Peyser was dead.
See, Ryan Reynolds, you got off easy just being called “not so funny in real life.” Martha could’ve knocked you off in her imaginary life! Ahead of its release, I predicted the pop cultural ripple effects of Martha would be epic, and I do believe that prediction has borne out, my friends. Martha was denouncing the trial’s inclusion before the doc even came out, which only served to bring more attention to that ordeal and whet our appetites for what else filmmaker R.J. Cutler had in store. (For what it’s worth, I thought Cutler actually did right by Martha in presenting a compelling case for the indictment being a legally-murky, overblown response from Comey.) It’s still hilarious to me, as an ardent observer of the human condition, that Martha was in a tizzy about coverage of her trial, when the real bombshells all had to do with her marriage, and selectively applied beliefs on fidelity. Martha wanted to cast her ex-husband Andy Stewart as a terrible cheater… and then turned around and casually dismissed her own indiscretions as not unfaithful but “emotional,” or not consequential because she would never leave her marriage over it and/or because Andy “never knew.” I’m not saying everything was Martha’s fault, I just find the gap in self-awareness FASCINATING.
Someone who’s not so enamored of all this rehashing? Andy Stewart’s current wife, who posted on social media recently that she wished Martha would please stop talking about a marriage that ended 34 years ago, one that she says was “painful and abusive” for Andy. And I think we all know who Martha’s going to declare dead next.
Photos credit: Getty, © 2024 Martha Stewart/Courte via Netflix Press, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Netflix, IMAGO/mpi099/MediaPunch/Avalon and screenshots from Martha on Netflix
I’m curious as to why anyone would find Martha’s “gap in self-awareness FASCINATING.” Her history would suggest that she has always been single-minded and I don’t think folks ever describe her as supportive, colloborative, thoughtful or introspective. Martha has always been about Martha, which is likely a huge part of her success. But she’s always struck me as willing to do anything it takes to come out on top, include cheat, and very thin-skinned. Those are not folks known to be the least bit introspective.
Agree. Martha is willing enough to slag off on other people, she needs to learn to take it in response.
she’s a perfectionist btch. The part where she looks at people not getting the job done right in the kitchen, I can relate to. I used to lose it too watching incompetence. There’s a lot of perfectionist btches out there. I was one of them, constantly triggered by lazy, incompetent, waste of timers also out there. It drove me crazy.
Would anyone question how she spoke to her employees in that clip if she were a man? I think not. She’s the boss, she has the right to tell her employees how she wants them to do their jobs. She wasn’t yelling or being demeaning. She was just letting people know how she wanted something done. Let women live please, internet.
Sorry not sorry but I am on Martha’s side all of the way. I actually watched the documentary and it was a takedown of patriarchy sorely needed right now. It Iindicts the fact that this woman who acted no worse and actually much nicer than most man execs, the original pioneer lifestyle guru, self-made female billionaire was treated unmercifully by the press while males in the same position are rarely held accountable or put in prison for much worse offenses. Also, if you saw Martha’s rise after prison, you’d know it involved her sitting at a Justin Bieber tv roast for SEVEN hours being mercilessly dissed and made fun of but just taking it without reaction, killing it flawlessly when it was her turn at the mic and bonding w Snoop Dogg who was sitting next to her which led to her rise from the ashes after prison. She was cool again as a senior citizen. That bitch did that!!! So yeah she has a thick skin and was savvy enough to play the cards she had been dealt. Pay that lady some respeck Xo
@Angel – you just convinced me to watch the documentary. And we need to stop calling out women for things that we don’t call out men for. We are being used as tools for the patriarchy.
@angel 💯💯💯💯💯
The way Comey made his bones off her back. He couldn’t convict her of a crime so convicted her on *lying about a crime she didn’t do*!!!
She’s truly impressive. The woman is an icon. Her flaws are there to see. but anyone who picks her apart bc she’s human is focusing away from how she transcends those flaws by working harder and also being smarter, funnier, and more talented than most of us could ever be.
Edit – not in the doc but anyone see the ceramic nativity scene she made when *in prison*??? It’s unreal
She was framed. Like a Rembrandt.
I moved to NY in 2003, and for years I’d read The Post on the metro to work in the mornings (I was 18 at the time- now I would never). In Martha’s defense, Andrea Peyser and Cindy Adams are both extremely smug and annoying.
As I was reading this I immediately thought, “oh she’s probably confusing her with Cindy- the older more problematic one.”
Then I checked outta curiosity and nope.
She’s 90 and still walking around being annoying and whatnot.
I got nothing lol
I was thinking of Cindy Adam’s too.
If a gossip columnist can have an opinion about Martha, I think it’s fair for her to have an opinion about the gossip columnist too haha.
There are many people in NYC who would like to declare both of them dead. Martha is savage.
I never understood Martha’s appeal. Not surprised that her daughter fainted, her ex cheated, the columnist wrote badly about her, and of course, the documentary did nothing right. She’ll be a bitter betty all the way to the grave.
Narcissism. Sure can dish it out, but they can’t take it. Hypocrisy everywhere.
I’ve never understood her appeal. She’s always seemed to be about as unlikable as they come. Oh, and Martha, dear, you going to prison remains the only genuinely interesting thing about you; why would they leave it out?
I found the doc so funny in it’s insanity. She’s a nut job.
All I can say in her favor is she’s not as bad as Leon.
I find her really interesting. Would I want to live next door to her? Absolutely not – and I don’t think she’s terribly likeable IRL, but she is an incredible business woman and good or bad, everything she did had a big impact on elements of American culture. She once said something to the effect of, “Pottery Barn was based on my aesthetic.” She was the original tastemaker and pretty much every lifestyle brand (except for Ralph Lauren) owes their existence to her. It’s also fascinating how she built an entire empire around the home and homemaking, while her own family was a mess. I think she’s really interesting, though I would probably not want to spend too much time actually being around her.
Martha has always come across as totally unlikeable. I’ve never watch her purposefully. She’s been on the Today show so I’ve seen her doing segments. I don’t understand her appeal at all.
The gossip about her is now interesting. She talks about her husband cheating but totally dismisses kissing someone while on her honeymoon and having an affair too. She is something else.
Fascinating to read Kaiser’s take and the other commenters. Thank you very much
I was still in whatever the USA equivalent of Year 8 (possibly junior high if I was 12?) when Martha went into prison
I didn’t realise how big and famous she was then. Obvs knew this very famous white celebrity lady served prison time (but I thought it was real prison)
I watched the film on Netflix and watching thought “Fkn A ✊🏼 A woman competing like an absolute boss in a male dominated industry. Good on her”
So, I’m reading these comments with *fresh eyes* Thanks to all providing a more insightful & knowledgeable perspective. Much appreciated
I just watched it yesterday. It wasn’t Tiger King bonkers. But it was interesting to see how someone who took the opportunities in front of them and ran with it. If her husband wasn’t in publishing. Would she really have gotten a book deal. Or would be able to dictate how the book would go as a first-time author.
Did she stand her ground. Or did they acquiesce out of respect to her husband’s power. Just smacked all very nepo-wife to me. But not that Martha would see it that way.
And as a Gen Xr remembering how Martha would romanticize her upbringing on the old talk shows. Then to find out how chaotic it was. I just see Martha as someone who lives in their own very tastefully crafted world. And dismisses what she does not want to see or accept.
But she has her lush garden, and in the end. I think that’s all she ever really wanted in life.
But her husband didn’t give her a book deal.
Her husband’s **competitor* gave her the book deal.
She was right under his nose and he didn’t see the value she could create.
It’s interesting to see how people still can’t see her.
I love that b*tch. Truly. She does not care at all what anyone else thinks and never has.
Why do women have to be “likable” all the time anyway? Spoiler: we don’t, and it’s past time we gave that up.
I screamed when James Comey’s “but her emails” ugly mug came on the screen—shocking how his clout-chasing exclusively involves powerful women. If you haven’t watched the documentary, it’s worth it. I’d forgotten a lot of what happened, but her conviction was ambiguous at best. They didn’t even manage a sentence for insider trading. Instead, they put extreme pressure on literally everyone to get a “lying to the FBI” charge.
I don’t know how many of your friends would manage to stand up for you after two years of extreme pressure from federal law enforcement. You might think it would be easy, but don’t underestimate the fact that you are also facing a prosecutorial threat.
People describe her as being really mean, but I think I’d rather stand next to her in a kitchen than Gordon Ramsey. Every time they show a clip of her allegedly being mean, I’m like “That’s it?” She’s somewhat stern but her tone of voice seems tolerable enough to me.
Agreed. But women are supposed to say everything with a smile and laugh. Otherwise we’re threatening and bitchy.
Same. Like the clip of the morning show she went on to talk about her cookbook. They’re in the kitchen set and the host kept nagging her about inside trading again and again, just fishing and rudely prodding.
When Martha finally snapped, all she said was “I’m just here to make a salad” but my God you’d think she’d slapped the woman (frankly I would have been tempted) given the following press coverage.
She was in prison for five months, not two.
I have always loved Martha and no one can make me hate her. The hate she gets is rooted in misogyny
I think she has an interesting charisma where she can get away with saying whatever she wants without a filter haha. She entertains me. Maybe her age helps? I don’t think a young beautiful 20 something year old Martha (which she definitely was — clearly she never went through an awkward stage) could get away with this quality, but it’s kind of hard to dislike an 80 year old woman. I think I’m supposed to hate her, but I can’t.
I think she’s disliked bc she’s a tall poppy, you know? Men, and women (maybe especially women?) want to cut her down.
She was born poor(ish), had the looks to be a successful model, the brains and savvy to be a wildly successful stockbrocker (!!!! In the early 80s!!! Women were barely allowed credit cards then!! She was the only woman who wasn’t a secretary!!! Why isn’t this focused on all the time?!), then became a wildly successful business owner with a catering company that invented new standards of imagination and detail, then wrote wildly successful books, then launched her own magazine, then created “lifestyle brand” before anyone heard of such a thing, then kicked off a media empire with TV, print, etc , then went public with one of the most successful IPOs ever….
So they sent her to prison, and everyone cackled.
Facts.
So Martha tells one lie and goes to jail: orange turd tRump tells lies every day, for the four years of his presidency, and nothing happens to him…..so hypocritical.
I know someone who worked for Martha back in the 90’s, she said that if Martha were a man, no one would say shit about her.
So hypocritical!!!
A lot of people get a pass on insider trading. Comey thought he caught Stewart but it turned out she hadn’t so he went after her for lying. It was a he said-she said case. Martha and her broker were contradicted by his assistant who likely was offers a deal when he said she lied.
We all know at the same time period Trumo was committing tax fraud and other illegal dealings were reported by investigative reporters Wayne Barrett and David Cay Johnston yet Comey gave Trump a pass but went after the woman who actually ran a successful business. Comey was a Republican and Stewart is big donor to Democrats. I strongly suspect he is biased against both women and Democrats.