Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Arts & Entertainment

Martha Stewart: Millennials Are Lazy Because They Can't Afford To Be Martha Stewart


By

Rebecca Fishbein

Published Jul 12, 2016

Modified Jul 12, 2016


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Damn you, Craft Jesus!

 

Getty


By

Rebecca Fishbein

Published Jul 12, 2016

Modified Jul 12, 2016


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

It might seem like Martha Stewart is in with the youths. She loves Williamsburg, Snoop Dogg, and online dating, for instance; she too wants Gwyneth Paltrow to shut up; and she built a multimillion dollar empire by artfully canning jam. But alas, young, people, it turns out Stewart hates you just as much as she hates GOOP—she called millennials "lazy," both because they're living with their parents and also because they refuse to grow their own tomato plants. Philistines!

In an interview with something called Luxury Listings, Stewart expressed distaste with Gen Y's apparent lack of decorating prowess. "I think every business is trying to target millennials. But who are millennials? Now we are finding out that they are living with their parents," she said. "They don’t have the initiative to go out and find a little apartment and grow a tomato plant on the terrace."

Indeed, it's quite sad that some millennials are so lazy they've decided to save money by living with their parents instead of asking their stockbroker friends for insider trading tips. It's also quite sad that a woman hip enough to ride a hoverboard can't quite understand the economic death that has enveloped young Americans, even though she claims she totally gets that "[t]he economic circumstances out there are very grim."

It takes more than just hard work to save the Youngs from financial collapse. Stewart pointed out that she got an apartment after she got married at 19, but she also got divorced at 46, an often costly drain plenty of Americans are trying to avoid by marrying and/or co-habitating with partners later in life. Even employed millennials are making less money than the generations that preceded them, and the student loan debt is well over $1.3 trillion.

The average household debt in 1956, around when Stewart got married, was $88,553 when adjusted for inflation; the average Millennial only owes about $63,608, but they're doing much, much better debt-wise than the two generations that have preceded them, perhaps because they're delaying rent payments and saving instead of purchasing $45 DIY weavers.

Then again, millennials are currently walking into poles while capturing nostalgic anime characters characters on their cell phones, so we would probably be better off learning how to make jam.

Tagged

canning

crafts

martha stewart

millennials

pokemon go

tomatoes

why god


Rebecca Fishbein

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE arts-entertainment

In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff

We dropped by WNYU to see what the next generation of radio DJs is up to. The answer is "Br00tal Beats To Study/Relax To."

By

James Ramsay

Published Oct 22, 2026 at 11:18 a.m. ET


A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings

Highlights of shifts in the city's business landscape.

By

Hannah Frishberg

Arts & Entertainment

A Queens prop shop shutters, bunnies find a home uptown, and more openings and closings

Highlights of shifts in the city's business landscape.

By

Hannah Frishberg


A new film invites you to eavesdrop on one of the greatest conversations in NYC history

By

Sonia Rao

The Knicks are NBA champions. Now they have to start dressing the part.

By

Sonia Rao

Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.

By

Sonia Rao


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .