Julia Fox has responded to the backlash she’s faced online for her Halloween costume, a bloodied version of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
What did Julia Fox say about her costume?
Fox debuted the costume during a Halloween party in New York City hosted by The Cursed Amulet game. The costume featured a sequined version of Onassis’ famous pink suit, but was also adorned with blood over the chest, a reference to the iconic photo of Onassis following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.
Onassis was wearing the suit on the day Kennedy was assassinated, and many online saw Fox’s take on it as tasteless and mocking the tragedy. In a statement on Instagram, Fox said the costume was “a statement” more than simply just an outfit.
“I’m dressed as Jackie Kennedy in the pink suit. Now as a costume, but as a statement. When her husband was assassinated, she refused to change out of her blood-stained clothes, saying, ‘I want them to see what they’ve done,’” Fox’s statement read. “The image of the delicate pink suit splattered with blood is one of the most haunting juxtapositions in modern history. Beauty and horror. Poise and devastation.
Fox also referenced Onassis’ decision to keep the suit on during the emergency swearing-in ceremony of Lyndon B. Johnson, which she did to send a message to the country. Fox said that moment was “performance” and “protest,” and she hoped to honor it.
“Her decision not to change clothes, even after being encouraged to, was an act of extraordinary bravery. It was performance, protest and mourning all at once. A woman weaponizing image and grace to expose brutality. It’s about trauma, power and how femininity itself is a form of resistance. Long live Jackie O.”
