Martha Stewart has finally opened up about her five months in prison, describing the experience as "horrifying" during an exclusive interview on Katie Couric's podcast.
The businesswoman and television personality spent five months in West Virginia's Alderson Federal Prison Camp in 2004 and 2005 after lying about a stock sale in 2001, People magazine noted.
Stewart told Couric that although she was in a minimum-security facility, the experience was "no walk in the park," People reported.
In the interview, she points out that she wasn't actually accused of insider trading and that she didn't feel she deserved her sentence. She got to know her fellow inmates, though, and tried to help them where she could.
Based on her experience, Stewart said there are simply too many people incarcerated in America.
"Most of the women who were in this institution were there because of the New York State drug laws," she pointed out, adding that there were women in prison with her serving 20 years for a few ounces of marijuana, which has now been legalized in seven states.
Besides the negative experience of being taken away from her family, Stewart said: "There are lots and lots of disturbing things that go on in an incarceration like that."
Couric asked if the experience had taught her anything, asking if she felt that she could "make lemonade from lemons" or whether it was a case of "what hurts you makes you stronger."
Stewart assured her that none of those adages fit at all.
"It's a horrible experience. Nothing is good about it, nothing," she said.
She said no one should have to go through the indignity of a prison sentence, "except for murderers, and there are a few other categories."
Stewart also took the opportunity to talk about her new projects like her 89th book, "Martha Stewart's Slow Cooker," and her VH1 show with rapper Snoop Dogg, "Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party," because she says she refuses to be defined by her prison time.
The 76-year-old told Couric that it wouldn't be fair. "I was a strong person to start with and thank heavens I was and I can still hold my head up high and know that I'm fine."
Stewart spent the rest of the interview talking about her day-to-day routine; her own cooking, which she blogs about; her childhood in New Jersey; and her business, Newser noted.