‘Today Is a Shameful Day’

Here are excerpts from Martha Stewart’s statement outside the courthouse:

Today is a shameful day. It’s shameful for me, and for my family, and for my beloved company, and for all of its employees and partners. What was a small personal matter came over the -- became over the last two years an almost fatal circus event of unprecedented proportions.

I have been choked and almost suffocated to death during that time, all the while more concerned about the well-being of others than for myself, more hurt for them and for their losses than for my own, more worried for their futures than the future of Martha Stewart the person.

More than 200 people have lost their jobs at my company as a result of this situation. I want them to know how very, very sorry I am for them and their families.

I would like to thank everybody who stood by me, who wished me well, waved to me on the street like these lovely people over here, smiled at me, called me, wrote to me. We received thousands of support letters, and more than 170,000 e-mails to marthatalks.com, and I appreciate each and every one of those pieces of correspondence. I really feel good about it.

Perhaps all of you out there can continue to show your support by subscribing to our magazine, by buying our products, by encouraging our advertisers to come back in full force to our magazines.

And I’ll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly.