Jessica Alba has deleted Instagram photos of her Halloween costume after facing backlash for dressing as former figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who was assaulted weeks before the 1994 Winter Olympics.
The actress wore a white lace figure skating dress with a bloody bandage wrapped around her knee. Her friend Kelly Sawyer dressed as Tonya Harding, Kerrigan's former skating rival, and posed with a baseball bat.
Costume referenced 1994 attack
The duo's costume referenced Kerrigan's 1994 attack, when she was struck on the knee with a police baton after a practice skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in a bid to end her Olympic chances. Her attacker, Shane Stant, was hired by Jeff Gillooly, Tonya's ex-husband, and Shawn Eckhardt, Jeff's childhood friend.
Tonya denied having any involvement in planning the attack, but pleaded guilty to conspiring to hinder the prosecution. Following the incident, she received probation and a life ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. However, she did recently go public with ambitions to return to the sport.
Backlash and defense
Alba posted a carousel of photos of her Halloween get-up with the caption: 'Happy Halloween from Tonya … and Nancy.' But she swiftly received backlash from commenters before she deleted the post.
'We expect better, Jessica,' one person reportedly commented, according to Page Six, as another said: 'Immature.' Another questioned Alba and Kelly's choice to 'revisit this traumatic moment that ended people's careers' and accused them of 'making a Halloween costume out of a victim of an attack.'
Meanwhile, someone else pointed out Martha Stewart's equally tone deaf decision to dress up as what appeared to be a caricature of an unhoused person, complete with makeup resembling dirt smudged on her face.
'Wow, first Martha and now Jessica. Why are we being nasty this Halloween?' the user said.
However, others defended Alba, with one arguing: 'It's been over 30 years, there's been two feature films and, like, five made for TV movies about it. Seems like a pretty tame joke at this point.'
2026 is not the only year of controversial Halloween costumes. Over the years, plenty of celebs have generated intense backlash for their questionable choices, from Lily Allen in 2014 to Khloé Kardashian way back in 2003.
