Martha Stewart has finally broken her silence — and she says the backlash was never the point.

After deleting her Halloween costume post Friday night, the lifestyle icon told People magazine she was “distressed” that the look offended anyone, insisting the costume was meant to “bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness.”

“I am distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday… has offended people, which was never my intention,” Stewart told People, pointing to her long history of charity work.

The original post — an Oct. 31 Instagram carousel promoting QVC candles — showed Stewart in torn jeans, a cardigan and a knit cap, holding a sign reading “I AM HUNGRY HELP ME!!” with two of her dogs by her side. It was gone within hours, but screenshots spread fast — and critics piled on, citing her reported $400 million net worth as exactly why the costume hit wrong.

This morning we covered the backlash that got the post deleted — read the full story here.

Featured image: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Source: USA Today (via People magazine)