Topics: Halloween, Celebrity, Entertainment, Twitter, Social Media
Julia Fox has defended her controversial Halloween costume following a slew of online backlash - but it only seems to have made matters worse.
Now, we know people like to go all out when dressing up for the annual holiday, with some celebrities' outlandish costume reveals being a whole event of their own. Heidi Klum, we're looking at you.
It's become somewhat trendy to come up with the most unique and outlandish idea that no one else will have gone for, and Fox is no different.
She turned heads in 2023 when she dressed up as Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as earning praise last year when she and her son, Valentino, four, adorably matched as they dressed as characters from Where The Wild Things Are for Halloween.
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But as we say, this year's costume hasn't gone down quite as well, as the American actress and model, 35, dressed up as former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, donning the outfit she wore on 22 November 1963, the day her husband was assassinated.
For those who need a reminder, former US President John F Kennedy was brutally killed in broad daylight, whilst he and Jackie were enjoying a motorcade ride through Dallas, Texas.
In the aftermath, Kennedy was famously photographed standing beside the then-Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, in the same blood-splattered clothes, which is what Fox has attempted to emulate.
As you can imagine, the costume got ripped apart on the internet for being 'disrespectful and tasteless,' and now, the actress has responded to the hate.
She posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, doubling down and defending the choice, saying the outfit was a 'statement' not a 'costume'.
Fox wrote: "I’m dressed as Jackie Kennedy in the pink suit. Not as a costume, but as a statement.
"When her husband was assassinated, she refused to change out of her blood-stained clothes, saying, 'I want them to see what they’ve done'.
"The image of the delicate pink suit splattered with blood is one of the most haunting juxtapositions in modern history. Beauty and horror. Poise and devastation."
She added: "Her decision not to change clothes, even after being encouraged to, was an act of extraordinary bravery.
"It was performance, protest, and mourning all at once. A woman weaponising image and grace to expose brutality. It’s about trauma, power, and how femininity itself is a form of resistance. Long live Jackie."
But the explanation is not enough for some, who have continued to hit out at the polarising choice on social media.
One Twitter user wrote: "Doesn’t matter the reason. Still inappropriate," while a second agreed: "Dressing up as Jackie without the blood, would have delivered the same message."
A third argued: "I hate when people do something kinda weird and then try to put a self-righteous, 'you just don’t get the deeper meaning,' spin on it. You thought it was camp to dress up as the most horrifying moment in someone’s life and it didn’t quite land, just own it for what it was Julia."
"It wasn’t performance. It was shock. What does femininity have to do with watching your husband be killed in front of you," questioned a fourth.
Meanwhile, others chimed in with: "Try poor taste and gross" and "This explanation somehow makes it even worse."
Tyla has contacted a representative for Julia Fox for comment.
