Martha Stewart
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
What was the Accusation?
Martha Stewart was one of the world’s best-known homemaking and lifestyle figures, with a brand that included television, magazines, and home products. Her image made her 2004 conviction for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements especially surprising to fans and the general public. The charges stemmed from an investigation into Stewart’s sale of shares in the drugmaker ImClone Systems. Prosecutors alleged that Stewart sold stock after receiving inside information connected to a negative Food and Drug Administration ruling involving a key ImClone drug, and that she later made false statements when questioned about the sale.
After her sentencing, Stewart spoke on the courthouse steps and framed the case as a small personal matter that had become an outsized public spectacle. She expressed sorrow for the damage to her company and employees, thanked supporters, encouraged the public to keep supporting Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and vowed that she would return. She also attacked the intensity of the case against her, describing the process as filled with “venom” and “gore.” Stewart served a five-month prison sentence and later returned to public life and business, largely restoring her image. Her response used attacking the accuser and bolstering by criticizing the prosecution and public spectacle while emphasizing her company, work ethic, supporters, and future comeback.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Attacking the Accuser, Bolstering
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Transcript
“Today is a shameful day. It’s shameful for me, and for my family, and for my beloved company, and for all of its employees and partners. What was a small personal matter came over the became over the last two years an almost fatal circus event of unprecedented proportions.
I have been choked and almost suffocated to death during that time, all the while more concerned about the well-being of others than for myself, more hurt for them and for their losses than for my own, more worried for their futures than the future of Martha Stewart the person.
More than 200 people have lost their jobs at my company as a result of this situation. I want them to know how very, very sorry I am for them and their families.
I would like to thank everybody who stood by me, who wished me well, waved to me on the street like these lovely people over here, smiled at me, called me, wrote to me. We received thousands of support letters, and more than 170,000 e-mails to marthatalks.com, and I appreciate each and every one of those pieces of correspondence. I really feel good about it.
Perhaps all of you out there can continue to show your support by subscribing to our magazine, by buying our products, by encouraging our advertisers to come back in full-force to our magazines.
Our magazines are great. They deserve your support, and whatever happened to me personally shouldn’t have any effect whatsoever on the great company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. And I don’t want to use this as a sales pitch for my company, but we love that company, we’ve worked so hard on that company, and we really think it merits great attention from the American public.
And I’ll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly. I’m used to all kinds of hard work, as you know, and I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid whatsoever. I’m just very, very sorry that it’s come to this, that a small personal matter has been able to be blown out of all proportion, and with such venom and such gore, I mean it’s just terrible.
We are going to appeal so I’m not going to talk about the case. … I want to thank Bob Morvillo and his whole team for doing the very best job they could do in defending me.”
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