Martha knows best? Martha Stewart is known for speaking her mind when it comes to fellow stars, the business world and more hot-button issues. In fact, she often sparks controversy with her snarky opinions.
The businesswoman is perhaps as associated with her empire as she is with her ongoing feud with Gwyneth Paltrow regarding her Goop company. “I haven’t eaten at Gwyneth’s house and I don’t know how she lives, but if she’s authentic, all the better. I certainly hope she is,” Stewart told Bloomberg Television in October 2013. “She really wants to be part of the lifestyle business. She’s a charming, pretty person who has a feeling for lifestyle. Fine, good. … I think I started this whole category of lifestyle.”
Stewart has been skeptical of other famous faces who tried to make the leap from actress to lifestyle guru, including her pal Blake Lively when the Gossip Girl alum launched her website, Preserve, in July 2014.
Let her try,” the Martha Knows Best star told HuffPost Entertainment in July 2014 of Lively trying to emulate her. “I don’t mean that facetiously! I mean, it’s stupid. She could be an actress! Why would you want to be me if you could be an actress? I just did a movie yesterday, though — I can’t even tell you about it — but I want to be Blake Lively.”
The A Simple Favor star shut down Preserve in October 2015, at which point Stewart offered words of encouragement to her New York neighbor. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I know she made a big effort,” she told Us Weekly. “Sometimes shuttering is good. Listen, she’s a movie actress. Why bother with commerce right now? She’s at the top of her career. … I’m totally supportive, but you know what? Maybe you can’t do everything at the same time.”
The cookbook author remained friends with Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, after her initial criticism, later playfully throwing shade at the Deadpool star in April 2020.
Despite her frank nature — or possibly because of it — fans still look to Stewart as a source of inspiration, which she has embraced. “If you can get some life lessons out of what I’ve done or what I think I’ve done, that would be great,” she said in the March 2021 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
Scroll down to revisit Stewart’s most eyebrow-raising quotes about Paltrow, Bethenny Frankel, Rachael Ray and more through the years.
Wishful Thinking?
During an interview on Chelsea Handler‘s podcast “Dear Chelsea” in July 2022, the Barnard alum opened up about the “two mad crushes” she’d had recently — only to find that one of them was “married to the mother of some friends of mine.”
After Handler stated that it’s tempting to think someone’s relationship is temporary, Stewart quipped, “Or maybe they’ll die. I always think, ‘Oh gosh, couldn’t that person just die?’ Not — not painfully. Just die … but it hasn’t worked out.”
Misunderstanding?
Stewart made headlines in November 2009 for describing Ray to Nightline as “more of an entertainer … with her bubbly personality than she is a teacher like me.” The Rachael Ray Show host replied to the remarks, asking: “Why would it make me mad? Her skill set is far beyond mine. That’s simply the reality of it.”
Later that month, the former model insisted there were “no bad feelings” between her and Ray. “I truly believe that Rachael has done a terrific job bringing people, many people who would have never even stepped into the kitchen or made a dish, to cook,” she clarified on The Martha Stewart Show. “I applaud Rachael for her enthusiastic approach to cooking.”
Pest Control
Stewart served up some real talk when recalling why Frankel did not win The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005. “Well, you weren’t so likable then. You weren’t. No, you weren’t,” she told the Real Housewives of New York City alum on Bethenny in September 2013. “You were a pest. You were so out there in front of everybody.”
After Frankel reiterated that she “didn’t win” the competition, Stewart responded, “Are you still smarting from that? You have your own show now, this fabulous show!”
The Gwyneth Saga
Stewart came after Paltrow in September 2014. “She just needs to be quiet. She’s a movie star,” she told PORTER magazine of her Goop aspirations. “If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart.” The following month, the actress reacted to the dig, saying that she was “so psyched that she sees us as competition.”
Stewart doubled down on her feelings toward the Oscar winner in September 2017. “Who’s Goop?” she said when asked about Paltrow on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. The Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party cohost then noted in August 2019 that she doesn’t “follow Goop” during an episode of Barstool Sports’ “The Corp” podcast, but she wished the Iron Man star well.
Of Paltrow’s vagina candle, Stewart claimed in January 2020 she “does that kind of irritating … she’s trying to shush up the public to listen to her. And that’s great. I mean, let her do her thing. I wouldn’t buy that candle.”
Keeping Up With Jonathan
Stewart clearly had not been Keeping Up With the Kardashians when she was seated next to Jonathan Cheban at an event in June 2016. “Do you know this guy??” she tweeted at the time. “He says he is well known.” She later amended, “Better photo of jonathan who is very famous bff of the kardashians who knew!”
Cheban did not seem offended by the awkward encounter. “Fun dinner with the best!!” he raved on Twitter. “@MarthaStewart she’s been keeping me laughing for hours!”
Take It From Her
Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators in March 2004. She subsequently served five months in prison and five months in home confinement.
In October 2019, she offered her opinion on Felicity Huffman’s brief stint in prison after pleading guilty to her involvement in the nationwide college admissions scandal. “She should style her outfit a little bit more,” she quipped. “She looked pretty schlumpy.”
His and Hers
Stewart made a playful jab at Reynolds in April 2020 when she pointed out his alcohol brand in an Instagram video. “Tonight: Wine, gin, wine, gin, gin, gin, gin, gin — Ryan Reynolds’ gin,” she said. “Blake Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds’ gin.”
The actor, who lives near the TV personality in New York, replied via his Instagram Story, “When my wife sees this … I’m getting pregnant.” Lively then chimed in: “@vancityreynolds you’ve finally done it. Wear something sexy tonight.”
