Jessica Alba defended after sharing 'dehumanising' Halloween costume in now-deleted post
Jessica Alba has found herself at the centre of a Halloween controversy after sharing a costume inspired by one of sport's most infamous scandals.
While some social media users have branded the look 'dehumanising', however, others have rushed to her defence.
The Honey actress, 45, sparked a fiery debate online this week after posting pictures of herself dressed as former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, complete with a bloodied bandage around her knee.
Her friend Kelly Sawyer, meanwhile, dressed as Kerrigan's notorious rival Tonya Harding, carrying a baseball bat as part of the look.
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The pair wore their costumes to a star-studded Halloween party hosted by Vas J Morgan and Michael Braun in Los Angeles on Saturday (31 Oct), which had a 'Hockey Horror' theme.
Alba initially shared pictures of the outfits on Instagram the following day, captioning the controversial post: "Halloween from Tonya … and Nancy."
However, the images were subsequently removed from her the star's account following a fair amount of online backlash.
According to PEOPLE, the pictures were still visible on her Threads account, however, where reactions appeared to be more mixed, with some users praising the costumes while others questioned whether making a Halloween outfit out of a real-life assault was appropriate.
Why was the costume seen as so controversial?
For anyone unfamiliar with the 90s scandal, the look references the shocking 1994 attack on American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. She was attacked in January that year while leaving a practice session at the US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
Kerrigan was struck on her lower right thigh with a metal baton by an attacker.
The assault had been orchestrated by individuals connected to fellow figure skater Tonya Harding, Kerrigan's sporting rival, with Harding's then-ex-husband Jeff Gillooly among those involved in the plot.
The attack left Kerrigan badly bruised and forced her to withdraw from the US Championships, although she recovered in time to compete at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer the following month.
Harding initially denied knowing about the attack but later pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder the prosecution, later being banned for life from the US Figure Skating Association.
The incident became a global media sensation, with the rivalry between the two athletes later inspiring the 2017 film I, Tonya.
Given the circumstances, some social media users felt Alba's decision to recreate the incident, complete with bloodied injury details, was in poor taste.
"This is what true crime does to people. Just complete dehumanisation," one particularly disgruntled X user penned.
What did Alba's fans say?
But not everyone has agreed with the criticism, with several people taking to social media to defend the movie star, arguing that Halloween costumes should not be taken quite so seriously.
One person wrote: "We use to be a proper country where we could joke. It’s not like Nancy died."
Another added: "People are way too sensitive. It was a good costume idea."
A third person also questioned the backlash, writing: "People were dressing like them for Halloween when this actually happened. The sensitivity is over the top. These are Gen X olypians. I can’t even imagine Nancy caring."
And another simply insisted: "It’s just a costume."
Alba has not publicly addressed the criticism, and no official statement has been issued on her behalf.
Tyla contacted her reps for comment.
Rhianna Benson
