Here's Why Martha Stewart Isn't Happy With Her New Netflix Documentary (2024)

Martha Stewart has got some things to say. The American icon gets the full treatment in Netflix's latest documentary, Martha, directed by R.J. Cutler. It's a scorching study of the cost of perfection and genius, and in return, Martha herself gave it her scorching thoughts. While reviews for the film have been mostly positive, it's anything but positive for Stewart. Following the explosive rise, and even more explosive fall of Stewart during her trial and time in prison, Martha is an in-depth look at how the businesswoman revolutionized not only the magazine and television industry, but also American culture for women through her lifestyle brand.

The main issue Stewart has with the new documentary is with its director, Cutler. Cutler began his work in documentaries in the '80s as a producer on The War Room, before taking the director's chair. His notable works include the at-times wobbly, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, and 2024's acclaimed Elton John: Never Too Late. With Martha, he seemed like the perfect man for the job. But, as the documentary on Stewart teaches us, perfection is a dangerous thing in her world. Talking at length in a brutal interview with The New York Times, Martha Stewart crucified just about everything in the documentary.

What is 'Martha' About?

Martha follows the rise and fall, then the rise again, of Martha Stewart. It covers her humble beginnings in Nutley, New Jersey, as one of six children, with a cruel, perfectionist as a father. It's an intriguing and enlightening movie about how Stewart revolutionized the culture for women at home as a lifestyle brand, and how unapologetically feminist she was in the process. She gave a voice to mothers, wives, and women in the work force, and through her magazines and television shows, she became the first female, self-made billionaire in America. But Martha also explores the tolls of being an outspoken businesswoman among men, and also dedicates a large chunk of the film to her notorious trial regarding ImClone. She was found guilty, her image torn apart, with headlines and the trial using blatant sexism as a tool. But, she rose again, and continues to be a pop culture icon.

Martha Stewart Hated How Director R.J. Cutler Filmed Her, and Focus on Her Trial

In the wake of Martha's release and its fascinating exploration of food and lifestyle culture, Stewart was scheduled to have an interview with The New York Times with journalist Brooke Barnes, but it turned out to be a rant session where she dealt out burns to Cutler. One of her first issues with the movie was the ways in which she was filmed:

"Those last scenes with me looking like a lonely old lady walking hunched over in the garden? Boy, I told him to get rid of those. And he refused. 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.He had three cameras on me. And he chooses to use the ugliest angle. And I told him, ‘Don’t use that angle! That’s not the nicest angle. You had three cameras. Use the other angle.’ He would not change that."

Stewart also resented the fact that so much of the movie was dedicated to her trial over her involvement in the ImClone stock trading case, rather than focusing on how she completely shifted American culture, and her groundbreaking magazine, Martha Stewart Living. "It was not that important. The trial and the actual incarceration was less than two years out of an 83-year life. I considered it a vacation, to tell you the truth. The trial itself was extremely boring. Even the judge fell asleep. R.J. didn’t even put that in. The judge was asleep at the bench. I wrote it in my diary every day."

‘Martha’ Notably Excludes the Music of Close Friend Snoop Dog

Part of Martha Stewart's image these days is defined by her endearing, very public relationship with close friend,Snoop Dog. According to her in the New York Times interview, she told Cutler an essential part of making the documentary would be that rap music would be included within the score, with Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, or Fredwreck potentially to score it. Instead, Cutler, chose to score it with classical music. This did not sit well with Stewart, as she called the music "lousy," in The New York Times. There is notably one inclusion of Snoop Dog's music, but not until the screen fades to black and the credits roll, with the song, "Beautiful."

Cutler responded to Stewart's harsh review in the same New York Times piece, by stating that the documentary isn't meant to be a "Wikipedia page," and instead a study of, "an incredibly interesting human being who is complicated and visionary and brilliant."Martha's thoughts haven't been all negative, however, since she recently told Drew Barrymore that she “thought it was good representation of a 20th and 21st century woman, and giving hope and caring to the female gender in America.” For a movie that dedicates its thesis to stating that Martha is a perfectionist, and examining the cost of such perfectionism, it should come as no surprise that Stewart would expect nothing less than a perfect documentary. ​​​​​​​

Martha

Documentary

Release Date

August 31, 2024

Director

R.J. Cutler

Cast

Martha Stewart

Runtime

113 minutes

Martha is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix