Martha Stewart reveals she was ‘dragged into solitary’ for ‘touching an officer’ during federal prison stay
Martha Stewart looks back on her “terrible” 5-month stay at Alderson Federal Prison Camp (nicknamed Camp Cupcake) in West Virginia in her forthcoming Netflix documentary, “Martha.”
“I was dragged into solitary for touching an officer,” Stewart says in an on-camera interview for the doc, according to People.
“No food or water for a day. This was Camp Cupcake, remember? That was the nickname. Camp Cupcake. It was not a cupcake.”
Stewart provided filmmaker R. J. Cutler with personal letters she wrote throughout her life. In the letters, which are read out loud in “Martha,” Stewart shares she earned her stay in solitary after she touched one of the guards on duty at the facility.
“Today I saw two very well-dressed ladies walking and I breezed by them, remarking on the beautiful warm morning and how nice they looked. When I realized from the big silver key chain that they were guards, I lightly brushed the chain,” she wrote.
She brushed off the incident, thinking it “was so minor when it occurred.” Though, she learned how serious the transgression was when she was called in “to be told never, ever touch a guard without expecting severe reprimand.”
A representative for the Federal Bureau of Prisons responded to Stewart’s allegations, telling People in a statement, “Every individual is provided with the basic necessities of life including regular meals three times a day and access to potable water regardless of where they are housed.”
Stewart served five months in prison after she was found guilty on all charges, including conspiracy and obstruction of justice, related to the sale of a stock. She was released in March 2005.
The Emmy winner went on to remember other intimate details of her day-to-day life while behind bars without fondness.
“Everything was terrible,” Stewart said of her experience, adding that she was ordered to complete a “physical exam, stripped of all clothes. Squat, arms out, cough — embarrassing.”
“I had to do all that crap that you see in the movies. You can’t even believe that that’s what you’re going through.”
On top of the treatment, Stewart also found herself concerned with her “double-decker bedstead metal spring and metal frame” and “the very poor quality of the food.”
“The springs are very saggy and thus an unhealthy bed set. I would actually prefer the top but over 62-years-old and you automatically are given a lower bunk,” she wrote.
“Martha” will be available for streaming on Netflix on Oct. 30.
