“Watching ‘Big Brother’ is not an easy way to live,” the Emmy winner said.
SAN FRANCISCO – Martha Stewart says she’s normally a “very optimistic person,” but right now she’s “a little depressed.”
“I’m not happy with what’s going on with immigration,” the 84-year-old entrepreneur and television host told USA TODAY. “I just got a notification that ICE is in the schools in my town of Bedford, New York. It’s very depressing. And we’re in a beautiful suburban town an hour from New York City. It’s crazy. Watching ‘Big Brother’ is not an easy way to live.”
The Daily Voice reported that the Bedford Central School District confirmed in a message to families that ICE agents were in the area.
Martha Stewart and Amanda Seyfried mingle at the Tory Burch show
Lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart attended the Tory Burch New York Fashion Week show alongside actresses Amanda Seyfried and Jodie Turner-Smith.
“ICE was searching for a specific individual in Mount Kisco this morning,” Superintendent Rob Glass wrote, according to the Daily Voice. “We want to reassure you that we have clear and specific protocols in place to address potential interactions with ICE agents.”
As for Stewart, she recently spoke out about the federal government’s response to immigration after being encouraged by her 14-year-old granddaughter, Jude.
“I don’t know if it’s acceptable not to speak up right now,” Jude wrote to Stewart, which the TV chef posted on Instagram.
“She’s 14 years old and as sensitive to what’s going on in this country as we should all be. I’m disappointed and saddened every day that we can’t show compassion to those in need,” Stewart said in the post. “We are being told that immigrants (most of us are immigrants or their descendants) are not welcome, cannot express our grievances in peaceful demonstrations, and may be attacked and even killed by federal troops.”
Stewart’s initial comments came after tensions over ICE enforcement boiled over in Minneapolis following two high-profile cases. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed American citizen Renee Nicole Good in January. Good had been protesting against ICE agents in the Twin Cities.
Alex Preti was also killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis in January. In both cases, the Trump administration characterized the shootings as acts of self-defense, but local authorities have pointed to video evidence that appears to show Preti was not brandishing a weapon and Good may not have been threatening the officers.
“I’m not going to get too political and criticize anyone individually,” Stewart told USA TODAY ahead of the Super Bowl. “America is a beautiful place. We have lived a very beautiful life here, and we must continue to do so.”
Martha Stewart teams up with Pepsi to focus on small businesses
Stewart, an Emmy Award-winning television personality, spoke to USA TODAY during an appearance at Pepsi Co. during Super Bowl week in San Francisco. Pepsi hosted “Bay Area Local Eats” at the NFL Fan Experience, highlighting many local restaurants in the area.
Stewart praised Pepsi, which he has partnered with for “several years,” for helping small businesses with tasks such as public relations and social media marketing.
“Everything is so expensive,” she said of business costs, pointing to a December 2025 Wall Street Journal article that explained how a $500 tab on food at a restaurant only yields a $25 profit. “That was their profit, considering the cost of labor, food, rent and everything else.
Restaurants are “a very tough business right now,” Stewart continued. “The cost of living is rising. Still, we all love eating out. We want to support local restaurants. So what can we do? That’s the question.”
Contributor: Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
