Martha Stewart criticises Netflix film for making her look like a “lonely old lady”
Martha Stewart, the TV personality and businesswoman, has criticised Netflix for the new documentary about her life. The documentary premiered on the streaming platform recently, but Stewart isn’t happy with its outcome.
At 83, Martha Stewart is one of the most high-profile TV personalities in the US. She has had some choice words to say about how RJ Cutler’s Martha was edited, as despite her helping with the documentary and providing extensive interviews to help with its creation, the director decided to focus only on very few aspects of her life.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, she said that she gave the production company “Total access” to her archive and the different facets of her life; however, they only used a few elements. She said that the minimal amount they focused on was “just shocking.”
One of her biggest complaints came from the closing segment of the documentary. “Those last scenes with me looking like a lonely old lady walking hunched over in the garden?” She recalled, “Boy, I told him to get rid of those.”
She continued, “I hate those last scenes. Hate them. I had ruptured my Achilles tendon. I had to have this hideous operation. And so I was limping a little. But again, he doesn’t even mention why – that I can live through that and still work seven days a week.”
Cutler has worked with a number of big names in the past. Some of his previous biographical studies include working with Billie Eilish, Elton John, Dick Cheney, Anna Wintour and John Belushi. He has also received acknowledgement from the Academy Awards, as his first movie, The War Room, which gave an in-depth look at Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, received a nomination for the Best Documentary Oscar. Despite his previous accolades, his work wasn’t up to scratch in Stewart’s eyes.
“I said to RJ,” recalled Stewart, “’An essential part of the film is that you play rap music’. Dr Dre will probably score it, or Snoop or Fredwreck. I said, ‘I want that music’. And then he gets some lousy classical score in there, which has nothing to do with me.”
Martha Stewart has several ties with the hip-hop community. She appeared on the Roast of Justin Bieber alongside a panel of people intertwined with the world of hip-hop. She also co-presented the TV series Potluck Dinner Party with Snoop Dogg for four years.
Martha is available to watch on Netflix now.