Jessica Alba has removed her Halloween photos after facing backlash over a costume depicting figure-skating champion Nancy Kerrigan with a bloodied injury.
The 45-year-old actress dressed as Kerrigan, while her friend Kelly Sawyer portrayed Tonya Harding in a recreation of the infamous 1994 attack.
Although Alba deleted the images from Instagram, she appeared to leave them on Instagram’s sister platform, Threads, where they were still visible on Monday morning.
The post was captioned: ‘Happy Halloween from Tonya @kellysawyer (Tonya’s mom LaVona) and Nancy (ice skate, snowflake emojis) Plus vampire Hayes (vampire, jack-o’-lantern and shooting star emojis).’
Alba recreated one of Kerrigan’s best-known looks in a lacy white dress, tights and ice skates. The most controversial detail was a white bandage over her left knee, complete with fake blood.
Sawyer, 51, wore a shimmering maroon dress and carried a baseball bat, emphasizing the connection to the attack.
Jessica Alba removed her Halloween photos after her costume depicting injured figure-skating champion Nancy Kerrigan sparked backlash
The 45-year-old actress was joined by her friend Kelly Sawyer, who dressed as Tonya Harding, for a recreation of the infamous 1994 attack
Harding, left, and Kerrigan, right, pictured during a training session for the 1994 Winter Olympics
Sawyer is a Canadian-American businesswoman and philanthropist best known for founding Baby2Baby, a national nonprofit organization that provides essential items to children living in poverty.
Alba’s caption also referred to Harding’s mother, LaVona Fay Golden, who was portrayed by Allison Janney in the 2017 biographical dark comedy I, Tonya. Janney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.
Harding was never criminally convicted of involvement in the attack, although she was given a lifetime ban by the US Figure Skating Association.
The baseball bat also did not reflect what happened. The attacker hired by Harding’s ex-husband, Shane Stant, used a police baton during the assault.
The incident took place on January 6, 1994, at the US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, Michigan, when reigning national champion Kerrigan was struck on the lower leg with a telescopic baton.
Footage recorded afterward showed Kerrigan sobbing on the floor and repeatedly crying, ‘Why? Why? Why?’ The moment became one of the most recognizable images of the decade.
FIND OUT MORE: I Tried the Kardashians’ Favorite Beauty Treatment—It Hurt
In recent years, Harding said she first learned about a possible plot against Kerrigan two months before the 1994 US National Championships.
The disgraced skater said she began to suspect a plan was being developed after overhearing a conversation between her then-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and his friend Shawn Eckardt.
Alba recreated one of Kerrigan’s best-known looks in a lacy white dress, tights and ice skates. The most eye-catching detail was a white bandage over her left knee with fake blood
Alba deleted the photos from Instagram, but appeared to leave them on Instagram’s sister platform, Threads, where they remained visible on Monday morning
The post was captioned: ‘Happy Halloween from Tonya @kellysawyer (Tonya’s mom LaVona) and Nancy (ice skate, snowflake emojis) Plus vampire Hayes (vampire, jack-o’-lantern and shooting star emojis)’
Alba’s caption also referenced Harding’s mother, LaVona Fay Golden, who was portrayed by Allison Janney in the 2017 film I, Tonya, earning the actress an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Above, the mother and daughter in Portland in January 1994
Harding has consistently maintained that she did not plan the assault or suggest that Gillooly hire Stant to carry it out.
She ultimately reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to hinder prosecution.
Harding was ordered to pay a $160,000 fine and received three years of probation, along with 500 hours of community service.
In another major consequence, she was stripped of her 1994 US Championship title and banned for life from the US Figure Skating Association.
Gillooly was sentenced to two years in prison, while Eckardt served 18 months for their roles in planning the assault and hiring the attacker.
The injury forced Kerrigan to withdraw from the US Championships, which Harding went on to win.
Kerrigan recovered in time to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, where she won a silver medal in one of sport’s most memorable comeback stories.
More than three decades after the attack, Kerrigan and Harding have never publicly reconciled.
