Jessica Alba’s Halloween photos didn’t stay on Instagram for long. The actress, 45, took down a post showing her as figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, with fake blood on a bandaged knee, after some followers objected to turning a real attack into a costume, USA TODAY reported.
Alba wore the look on Saturday, Oct. 31, to the “Hockey Horror” Halloween party in Los Angeles hosted by Vas J Morgan and Michael Braun, Us Weekly reported. She shared the photos on Sunday, Nov. 1, with the caption “Happy Halloween from Tonya … and Nancy.” By the next day, the post was gone from her Instagram, though the photos were still circulating on Threads, according to USA TODAY.
What the costume showed
Alba wore a white lace skating dress and white skates, with a bandage streaked with fake blood around her knee. Her friend Kelly Sawyer, co-CEO of the nonprofit Baby2Baby, posed as Tonya Harding, 55, in a burgundy skating dress with a baseball bat over one shoulder, according to Page Six.
The bat was a costume choice rather than a historical detail. Kerrigan, now 57, was struck with a police baton.
Why the costume drew criticism
Critics questioned why anyone would recreate a moment tied to a real attack on a real person. “Immature. We expect better, Jessica,” one commenter wrote, according to Page Six. Another asked, “Why would you want to revisit this traumatic moment that ended people’s careers?”
The reaction also spread to X. “Jessica Alba thought dressing up as a bloodied, clubbed Nancy Kerrigan was a cute Halloween idea,” one user wrote, according to USA TODAY. “Hollywood really went all in on tone deaf this year. This one is sick.”
Not everyone objected. Some commenters called the costumes clever, while others pointed out that the story has been retold on screen for decades. “Seems like a pretty tame joke at this point,” one Reddit user wrote.
The 1994 attack behind the costume
On Jan. 6, 1994, Shane Stant struck Kerrigan near the right knee with a police baton after a practice session in Detroit, ahead of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. History.com reports that Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, approached her bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, about taking Kerrigan out of the competition, and Eckardt arranged the attack.
Kerrigan withdrew from the championships, which Harding won. Kerrigan recovered in time for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, where she won silver and Harding finished eighth.
Harding later pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution, CBS News reported, and the U.S. Figure Skating Association banned her for life. She has denied planning the attack and was never convicted of taking part in it.
What’s next
Alba hasn’t publicly addressed the costume or the celebrity news cycle around it. USA TODAY and Us Weekly both said they reached out to her representatives. Neither Kerrigan nor Harding has commented on the costume, HollywoodLife reported.
Harding, meanwhile, is set to appear in an ice show called “Tonya and Friends” on Dec. 12 at Mountain View Ice Arena in Vancouver, Washington, according to Us Weekly.
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