Martha Stewart Reacts to "Naysayers" Calling Her Sports Illustrated Cover "Over-Retouched"

Martha Stewart is ready to take any airbrushing rumors off the heat. 

Days after the 81-year-old debuted her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover—becoming the oldest cover model for the magazine's iconic issue—she got candid about how people have reacted to the news. But despite the largely positive response, her historic feat has been met with a few trolls in her Instagram comments. 

"There are only a few naysayers saying, 'The pictures are over-retouched,'" Martha told Variety in an interview published May 16. "But they're not. They are incredibly accurate pictures. I was really pleased that there was not much airbrushing."

As to the comments claiming that the only way Martha can look this good is if she's had lots of work done? She has news for them. "Well, it's not true," the lifestyle maven responded. "I've had absolutely no plastic surgery whatsoever."

"Every now and then there are certain fillers that I can do for a little line here or there, but I hate Botox," she continued. "It's a weird thing for me. I really and truly don't do a lot."

Martha simply attributes her looks to good genes and a healthy lifestyle. "I have very healthy, good hair," she explained. "I drink green juice every day. I take my vitamins. I eat very healthfully. I have very good skin doctors. I'm very careful in the sun. I wear hats and I wear sunblock every single day."

And despite only having two months to prepare for her shoot, the TV host noted she only made minor adjustments to her daily life. 

"I didn't starve myself, but I didn't eat any bread or pasta for a couple of months," Martha shared on Today May 15. "I went to Pilates every other day and that was great. I'm still going to Pilates every other day 'cause it's so great."

 

The Daytime Emmy winner also upped some of her skin care practices, "I had my regular facials but maybe more frequently and I also got a spray tan," she added. "And I'm not a hairy person, but I got a complete body wax."

Though she was ready to don a bathing suit for the shoot, Martha did have some stipulations before signing on. 

"In the beginning, I said I would do it but I wasn't going to wear a fuddy-duddy bathing suit with bows and drapery and all that stuff," she revealed. "I was not going to wear anything like that because I don't wear stuff like that."

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