Veteran lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has admitted she “really screwed up” by dressing as a homeless person for Halloween.

The 85-year-old US entrepreneur and personality has deleted a photo of herself wearing torn clothes and dirt on her face, holding a sign saying: “I am hungry help me!!”

She posted a statement on Sunday saying she was “distressed that my Halloween costume yesterday, which was intended to bring more awareness to the very serious subject of homelessness, has offended people, which was never my intention”.

That was followed by a fuller apology. “It’s hard to admit when you’ve really screwed up. My earlier statement didn’t go far enough. I know many people are suffering economically. Wearing a costume like I did was insensitive and not funny. I am very sorry.”

Stewart had captioned her original Instagram photo: “My QVC candles are perfect for Halloween!!!”

The post received a swift and sharp backlash.

“This sartorial take on a homeless person is a lot. Insulting? Demeaning? Confusing? All of the above,” PR expert Molly McPherson wrote, external.

One person wrote on social media: “Why in the hell would you even think about wearing that as a costume?”

Another said: “Why would she do that? Who did she think would find that funny? Billionaires?”

Arguably the original lifestyle influencer, Stewart started a catering business in the 1970s and rose to fame in the 1990s when she started her own magazine, Martha Stewart Living.

She later became a billionaire, albeit briefly, when her media empire Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was floated on the stock market in 1999.

But in 2004 she was sentenced to five months in prison after she was found guilty on a number of charges related to an insider trading scandal.

She has since attempted to rebuild her brand, starring in her own reality television show, expanding her food products and teaming up with rapper and friend Snoop Dogg for a television series.

In 2015, she sold Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for more than $350m (£220m).