Jessica Alba, 45, deleted Instagram photos of her Halloween costume as figure skater Nancy Kerrigan after online criticism. A friend dressed as Tonya Harding with a baseball bat appeared beside her. Some commenters objected, while others praised the costumes.
Jessica Alba, 45, deleted Instagram photos of her Halloween costume as figure skater Nancy Kerrigan following online backlash. The look included a faux bloodied bandage wrapped around her knee. The carousel had been posted Sunday, November 1, with a caption wishing a happy Halloween from Tonya and Nancy.
The costumes and the party
A friend dressed as Tonya Harding and holding a baseball bat stood beside Alba in the photos. The pairing referenced the 1994 attack on Kerrigan. The costumes were worn to a "Hockey Horror" Halloween party in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 31, hosted by Vas J Morgan and Michael Braun.
The 1994 attack
In that attack, an assailant hired by Harding's ex-husband and bodyguard struck Kerrigan in the knee with a metal baton to force her out of the Olympic qualifiers. Immediately afterward, the then-24-year-old Kerrigan was filmed on the floor crying out repeatedly asking why, and she described the weapon as a hard, black stick. Harding was never criminally convicted of the direct assault, but she later admitted to overhearing the scheme. She received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Figure Skating Association.
Reaction online
Some commenters criticized the costume as immature and asked why Alba would revisit a traumatic moment that ended people's careers. Critics said it turned a violent assault on a victim into a casual Halloween costume, and one comment called it immature and said people expect better from Alba. One commenter linked the backlash to Martha Stewart's controversial homeless-person costume. Other users said they saw no harm and praised the creativity of Alba and her friend.
Harding's upcoming appearance
Tonya Harding, 55, told KOIN 6 she cannot walk away from skating despite her ban. She is scheduled to perform in "Tonya and Friends" on December 12 at Mountain View Ice Arena in Vancouver, Washington, skating for the public.
