Martha Stewart Pool Thirst Trap

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Part of a series on Martha Stewart. [View Related Entries]

About

Martha Stewart Pool Thirst Trap refers to a viral Instagram selfie posted by lifestyle celebrity Martha Stewart. The photograph in the post features Stewart in a pool leaning her head back and pursing her lips in a manner that many found sexually provocative. Some referred to this image as a "thirst trap," a type of post used to illicit sexual desire.

Origin

On July 21st, 2020, Stewart posted the pool selfie on Instagram.^[1] She captioned the photo, "My pool in East Hampton is the place to be on a 89 degree day! When I built the pool thirty years ago it was designed to be as chlorine free as possible, with a natural concrete finish-no paint- and it fit in a long narrow space between the house and the property line. I made it extra deep for diving and with no protruding steps so we could really race the length without worrying about obstacles. After all these years, It is a fun place to swim!!!" The post received more than 219,000 likes in less than three days (shown below).

Spread

That day, the image spread on Twitter, where user @HoopeFiasco shared the post and wrote,^[2] "Man if y’all don’t come get Martha Stewart off the gram lmaoooooooo." The post received more than 59,000 likes and 10,000 retweets in less than three days (shown below, left).

In one of the most discussed posts on the subject, Comedian Chelsea Handler parodied Stewart's selfie on Instagram. She wrote,^[3] "I’m here to take @marthastewart48’s swimming lesson. If I look this good at 78 I better still have a pool to show myself off in." The post received more than 216,000 likes in less than two days (shown below, center).

Stewart's response to the post went viral on Twitter, as well, when Twitter^[4] user @xhersian shared the exchange. Stewart wrote, "Dear Chelsea I'm so happy that you liked my post well enough to emulate it. I do think my pool is a little bit prettier than yours and that my facial expression is a little bit more relaxed. Nevertheless, you are a beautiful girl and FUCKING too young to be emulating me. Continue with your comedy, your humor, and your amazing ability to gather around you political liberals. We need it! Love Martha." @xhersian captioned the post, "Why Martha read her like that." The post received more than 228,000 likes and 29,000 retweets in less than one day (shown below, right).

Several media outlets covered the image and reaction, including TMZ,^[5] New York Post,^[6] Fox News, ^[7] Delish,^[8] BuzzFeed, ^[9] The Cut^[10] and more.