Martha Stewart deigned to let a noted documentarian make a film record of her life for posterity, and Netflix is set to release the fruits of that labor at the end of October. R.J. Cutler has helmed excellent movies on formidable subjects such as The September Issue (about Anna Wintour/Vogue) and The World According to Dick Cheney. So in working with Cutler on Martha-the-film, Martha-the-legend was totally fine with not being the director and handing off the final edit to someone else’s vision. JK, JK! Despite promoting the doc alongside Cutler at the Telluride Film Festival, Martha is no longer calling the film a good thing. Specifically the second half that deals with her prison sentence for insider trading, or as Martha eloquently put it, “It’s more about my stupid trial, which was so unfair.” Martha shared her true feelings while at the 2024 Retail Influencer CEO Forum last week:

“I try not to talk publicly about the things I don’t like, [as] it’s not good business,” she said during an on-stage conversation with the Daily Beast’s Chief Creative and Content Officer Joanna Coles. However, as she was particularly put off by the documentary, she added, “I can talk a little bit badly about that.”

As for what she didn’t like, “It’s more about my stupid trial, which was so unfair,” she said. Stewart also didn’t like the doc’s inclusion of a sit-down with former Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Director James Comey.

“[Cutler] has a picture of Comey [in the doc],” she continued, and “Comey says, ‘Oh, she’s going to jail because she lied, not because she committed a crime’ — some crap. And [he doesn’t put] underneath, ‘Comey was fired for lying.’” Comey was sacked by Donald Trump in 2017 following widespread criticism of his handling of both the Hillary Clinton email and the Russian election interference investigations, though the former president never provided a concrete reason for his firing.

“I would, as a documentarian, put that in,” Stewart continued, “so that’s the laziness part.”

Additionally, Stewart took issue with the level of collaboration she said she expected for her participation in the project. “I had a collaboration contract,” she explained, “We were going to be collaborators — and then he had final edit.” So when Stewart expressed that she wasn’t pleased with the second half of the doc (“the first half was great,” she said), Cutler had the final say: “He wouldn’t change anything.”

Stewart wasn’t expecting — nor did she want — full control, she added, but she expected more collaboration from Cutler. “You shouldn’t have a final edit, [but] you should have a cooperative edit.”

Despite the disagreement, both Cutler and Stewart have been promoting the film together. “We had to do a question-and-answer on the stage at Telluride last week,” she said, and added cheekily, “It was good.” After all, before things presumably became awkward, “I got along with him initially.”

Still, she feels the second half of Martha leaves much to be desired. “It doesn’t mention all my collaborations,” Stewart added. “I’ve had so many fabulous collaborations with thousands of wonderful employees who have worked so hard [and] like-minded people that I really am proud of. For them not to even have a part in this — it’s not fair, I don’t think, in a story of my life. That’s what really made me, me.”

[From The Daily Beast]

I think we can all agree in 2024 that the outsized zeal with which Martha Stewart was pursued, tried, and convicted in 2003 came down to good old fashioned misogyny, yes? I’m not saying she was innocent, but there was a certain glee the world showed in watching a successful woman fall from grace. I give Martha mad credit for her resilience in the aftermath; she boldly greeted the day from curtainless windows and came back for another act of palling around with Snoop Dogg, chipping off icebergs to add to her cocktails, and dining on chobsters.

But whatever you think of Martha’s 2003 conviction, it’s a little hard to believe that the fact of it being addressed in this documentary would take Martha by surprise, no? And then the James Comey stuff, my gosh. Without getting too much in the weeds, I’ll say that while I’m no Comey fan, Martha’s argument there is not what she thinks it is. In any event, I’ve seen enough to know I will definitely be watching this film next month. Of course, you’re talking to a girl who would be just as pleased to see an entire documentary focus on Martha’s bathing suit-as-underwear lifestyle choice. If ever something needed to be thoroughly investigated…

PS — “I try not to talk publicly about the things I don’t like,” coming from Martha, just about did me in.

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