Terry Shot Martha And It's Super Awkward

Here is a sentence you never though you'd read: Controversy magnet Terry Richardson photographed lifestyle queen Martha Stewart for Porter magazine, according to Fashionista. Surprise, surprise — the results are incredibly awkward.

The editorial features Stewart in various idyllic settings from her home in Bedford, New York (a flowery garden, a gleaming kitchen, a richly decorated living room) looking stilted, uncomfortable, and washed out. In the worst photo, she perches on a cream-colored sofa beside her three dogs, legs crossed daintily at the ankles. Despite the banality of their content, these pictures make my skin crawl. It's just impossible to ignore Richardson's alleged history of lewdness, even when he takes photos of a 75-year-old woman at home with her pets.

In a statement published by Fashionista, a representative from Porter explains that she shoot was actually Stewart's idea.

It is the first time these two controversy-hounds have met but it is, like so much in Stewart’s life, no accident. After debating over a long list of photographers, America’s house-mother superior insisted that Richardson shoot her. 'Oh, he is cute,' she will say later, when he comes to say goodbye.

Uhhhh... has Martha read the news lately? The general consensus seems to be that Richardson is anything but "cute." I was surprised to learn that our living version of a Pinterest board had suggested Richardson photograph her for Porter. She just looks so stiff in the editorial that I find it hard to believe she was completely at ease. Perhaps that can be blamed on the photo quality, which is frankly not great. Richardson seems to be losing the touch that made his images titillating in the first place. If that touch is sexual assault, well, good riddance.

But, as unlikely a friendship as it may seem, Martha Stewart is no stranger to controversy herself. Just because she appears wholesome doesn't mean she can't stay afloat in Terry World. Hey, maybe this isn't such an odd coupling after all.

Images: Getty Images