Julia Fox explains her controversial, bloody Jackie Kennedy Halloween costume: ‘Femininity itself is a form of resistance’
- - Julia Fox explains her controversial, bloody Jackie Kennedy Halloween costume: ‘Femininity itself is a form of resistance’
November 1, 2025 at 5:20 AM
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Julia Fox has set the internet ablaze with her Jackie Kennedy costume, which some have deemed both offensive and problematic.
The Uncut Gems actress attended a Halloween party in New York City on Friday dressed as the former first lady, moments after her husband, President John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed on Nov. 22, 1963. Kennedy, who was riding through Dallas in a motorcade alongside her husband at the time of the assassination, was famously wearing a pink, Coco Chanel-inspired suit that became soaked in blood after he was shot. The blood spattered on Kennedy’s suit was a result of the bullet that struck her husband’s head.
When former vice president Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird, offered to send someone to retrieve a change of clothes for Kennedy, she refused.
“I want them to see what they have done to Jack,” Kennedy replied.
Fox unveiled the Kennedy-inspired costume on Instagram, where she penned a lengthy caption explaining her intention behind the look. Dressing as Kennedy is a statement rather than a costume, Fox explained.
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“I’m dressed as Jackie Kennedy in the pink suit. Not as a costume, but as a statement,” Fox wrote. “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.’ 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.”
For Fox, the costume is a celebration of Kennedy’s resilience.
“Her decision not to change clothes, even after being encouraged to, was an act of extraordinary bravery,” Fox continued. “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 ♥️”
Online, Fox’s costume has stirred controversy. While many fans appear to be on board with the look and the decision to emulate Kennedy in this particular way, others are less understanding of the sentiment behind it. Several of Fox’s fans admit that her caption helped clarify things, though others still find the spattered blood to be an egregious touch.
“Okay the caption saved it for me- not everyone has this type of mindset,” one Instagram user commented, while another wrote, “That’s a great message but unless you tell everyone that lays eyes on you, it’s just gonna look horrifically offensive.”
Jackie Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy greeting the crowd at Love Field Airport in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. (Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock) (Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock)
Other social media users note that while Kennedy’s decision to continue wearing the blood-soaked suit was an act of bravery, Fox’s recreation of it is “attention seeking and horribly disrespectful.”
Another Instagram user asked, “Why are we dressing up as people on the worst day of their lives?”
Once a favorite in her closet, Kennedy wore the suit at least six times before her husband’s assassination. While it bears a close resemblance to a design from Chanel’s fall/winter 1961 collection, Kennedy’s pink suit was a replica designed by Oleg Cassini and constructed by Chez Ninon, a boutique in New York City. It was recreated to fulfill Kennedy’s commitment to wearing only American-made clothing at the time.
The blood-stained suit has been preserved by the National Archives of the United States in Maryland since 1964, and will remain locked away until 2103.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
