As was covered yesterday, the Sussexes attended Kris Jenner’s James Bond-themed 70th birthday over the weekend (along with everyone else in Hollywood). While the predictable subset of salty folks were in an uproar specifically over the Sussexes’ presence, it seems I was in a party of one of, well, not uproar, but rather intense perplexity over an adult holding a themed bday bash. My knee-jerk reaction to that is, it’s a bit ridiculous. Am I being a total spoil sport? One of the guests that night undoubtedly has an opinion on this, and that is OG lifestyle/hospitality queen Martha Stewart. What say you, Stewart — are themed bday parties for adults a good thing, or more like being petted on TV? One thing Miss Martha does seem to be in favor of is a cheeky toast. Before flying out West, Martha presented her longtime publicist and friend Susan Magrino with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a fete hosted by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Her remarks included some choice comments:
[From Parade via AOL]Martha Stewart has never been one to mince words — especially when it comes to the people who’ve helped build her empire.
During a recent appearance at the International Association of Culinary Professionals event in Brooklyn last week, the 84-year-old lifestyle icon turned the spotlight on her longtime publicist and close friend, Susan Magrino.
“There was building. There was rebuilding a business. There’s also been my boyfriends that she’s kept out of Page Six,” Stewart said to the audience with a grin per Page Six, adding that Magrino “knows where all the bodies are buried, in Turkey Hill and in Bedford, and elsewhere.” The comment drew laughter from the crowd, but it also showed the deep trust and loyalty between the two women. Stewart even shared that she calls Magrino every day to “keep her on her toes.”
According to the outlet, Max Tucci, owner of Tuccis and Delmonico’s, introduced Stewart before she presented Magrino with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, surprising her with the honor. Stewart went on to praise Magrino’s work ethic, recalling how she once advised her to take a family loan to launch her agency. “She paid her dad back within a year, and I congratulated her and I was very proud of her,” Stewart said, noting that Magrino’s business has since “expanded exponentially.”
Of course, Stewart couldn’t resist slipping in a playful jab at her friend’s culinary skills, quipping, “She is not the cook, however… maybe after the 40 years alongside me, she’ll take up cooking and become proficient at that.”
In a recent E! News interview, Stewart shifted from industry accolades to her other area of expertise — holiday hosting. The homemaking icon advised that preparation is everything. “Be careful about being organized for your holiday entertaining,” she said, warning that waiting until the last minute can make the season “unbelievably difficult.” Stewart also suggested ordering your turkey early and sticking to recipes you already know work. “Don’t experiment on your guests,” she added with a laugh.
Look, if you think Martha Stewart will refrain from getting a dig in at the person she’s there to honor — even when that person has been a veritable lifesaver time and time again — then you’re the fool! Of course Martha had to knock Susan’s cooking while bestowing her with a lifetime achievement award at a culinary event. After all, a (not so) subtle dash of snark is Martha’s (not so) secret ingredient! Condescension was always going to be baked into her words of tribute, along with hints of making the moment all about Martha instead of Susan, like the line about Susan knowing “where all the bodies are buried.” Do you think the audience was laughing genuinely or awkwardly at that? The bit about the “boyfriends that she’s kept out of Page Six” was another obvious attention-getter. (Sidenote: Martha really pays attention to what the NY tabloids say about her!) At this point, I highly doubt Susan was surprised by the tone of Martha’s remarks. As Martha herself noted, they’ve been through worse, and Susan continues to be there for Martha, even when she needlessly stirs up decades-old feuds. May we all be so lucky to have a damage-control maven in our corner.
PS — “Don’t experiment on your guests.” As someone who’s been on the unfortunate end of this equation, I beseech you to heed Martha’s advice.
photos credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon, Robin Platzer/Twin Images/Twin Images/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
My mom still gets magazine subscriptions so when I visit I get to pursue them all. Martha’s Living Halloween edition was really fun.
Hahah with Martha I actually wonder if there are bodies lol
I believe I read an in depth article in her magazine years ago about composting items that you don’t normally think of when building your gardening beds. The section about handling items that take longer to decompose (teeth and polyester fabrics) I found especially enlightening. Apparently if you plant rare and endangered plants on top there may be extra red tape when it comes to search warrants and the like.
I think Martha’s joke about Marino not being a cook is cute and funny, like adding a humorous remark to a eulogy. Helps to humanize the person and relax the audience. Besides, Marino was honored for being a longtime publicist not for serving up omelets. Imagine helping to rehab Martha after prison. “The part-time Orient resident was honored May 6 at the 2019 Matrix Awards, an annual ceremony held by New York Women in Communications, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower women in the communications field throughout their careers.”
I will always admire Martha Stewart because she is a self-made entrepreneur. I highly recommend the Netflix documentary about her life. It documents her difficult childhood. She always worked and helped her family to get by in her youth. Sure she made some mistakes, but don’t we all. I especially admire her persistence, vision and spunk.
Agreed! It was really good and changed my perception of her quite a lot.
I’m still not going to make her recipes (she definitely doesn’t wash her own pots – she will have you dirty every pot in your kitchen!) or do fussy things, but I have respect for her and what she has created.
Given my opinion of Martha, she would have no problem offing her publicist if need be. And not a look back. Woman doesn’t seem terribly introspective, “It had to be done and I did it. End of.”
Martha is looking good. Talk about a loooooong career. This woman is a survivor.
Themed parties are OK if the theme is broad enough, like Bond, that you can basically wear whatever reasonably dressy outfit you own if you aren’t interested in being costumey.
And LOL on the secret boyfriends.