Martha Stewart Used Iceberg Chunks To Chill Her Cocktail

Martha Stewart is being scorched on social media after she posted images holding a cocktail she chilled with a piece of a melting glacier. "We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight," she captioned the Instagram post, which has drawn the ire of many who have noted the environmental repercussions

Stewart is currently aboard the boutique ship SH Vega, part of the luxury Swan Hellenic Cruises fleet, traveling from Iceland to Greenland. She has been documenting her six-day adventure with her 1.9 million Instagram followers — most of her posts have received positive feedback, but sharing the photo posing with the milky cocktail has struck a nerve.

In addition to Stewart posing with the drink, the post provided photographic evidence of two large chunks of an iceberg sitting on a black bar cart as well as images of melting glaciers and cruise staff toasting with cocktails. While there's no evidence Stewart actually used the iceberg to chill her cocktail, most of her followers thought the caption was in poor taste and didn't hold back until she turned off the comment feature on Instagram.

Before all comments were erased, followers left remarks such as, "Martha is contributing to global warming," and "I generally love Martha and the excesses of her life because she's about beautiful gardens, homes, and food, but wealthy white people drinking their iceberg cocktails while the planet is in flames is a bit tone deaf."

Melting glaciers have been a frequent news item as of late, with environmentalists warning about how the effects will make sea levels rise, contribute to global warming, and endanger wildlife. Many nations, like Argentina, Chile, and Kyrgyzstan, have begun enacting Glacier Protection Laws to mitigate glacier dangers to try to stave off the effects, while Martha Stewart's post seemingly goes against these efforts.

Swan Hellenic Cruises says it adheres to local laws and is committed to marine conservation. Though the company has yet to comment on Stewart's post, in other Instagram shares, its says it prides itself on its staff being "attuned to the environment" and states on its website and social media that it focuses on sustainable, responsible, and authentic travel. 

While followers can't comment directly on Stewart's post anymore, it hasn't stopped them from leaving remarks on Stewart's more innocent recent posts of her trip, saying things like, "Please don't use an endangered whale or seal to make any elitist meals like you did with the disappearing iceberg." 

According to the National Institute of Medicine, Stewart's cocktails aren't the most significant threat to the glaciers (the mining industry is), and it doesn't appear that Stewart has violated any laws by chipping the iceberg into her cocktail, but it remains to be seen how her post might have other repercussions.