Martha Stewart, 83, finally sat down face-to-face with the man who broke her toe — New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson — and the encounter was anything but hostile. Stewart appeared on the Roommates Show podcast, co-hosted by Brunson, teammate Josh Hart, and Matt Hillman, to hash out the courtside collision that left her with a fractured big toe during a May 2025 playoff game at Madison Square Garden, The Daily Beast reported.
The incident occurred during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Stewart was sitting courtside in open-toed shoes when Brunson, the 29-year-old, six-foot-two guard, crashed into her while chasing a loose ball. The Pacers ultimately won that game 138-135 in overtime, according to Newsweek.
Stewart described the collision in vivid detail, recounting how Brunson landed in her lap during the play. She noted that his arm felt icy cold rather than sweaty — a sensory detail that stuck with her long after the buzzer, as she previously told Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s The Tonight Show in December 2025.
What made the situation worse was the timing. Because the game went into overtime, Stewart could not leave her courtside seat immediately after the injury. She sat through the extra period with a broken toe, unable to do anything but endure the pain while the arena roared around her.
X-rays later confirmed the damage was significant — a complete bone break of her big toe. Stewart was treated by Dr. Rock Positano at the Hospital for Special Surgery on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. In a lighthearted moment, Stewart and her doctor dubbed the injury the “Stewart-Brunson fracture,” a name that has since become part of the story’s lore.
The recovery was no small matter. Stewart said she could only wear open-toed shoes for about a year following the injury, a considerable lifestyle adjustment for someone known for her polished public appearances. During her Tonight Show appearance, she offered a piece of advice to fellow courtside fans: never wear open-toed shoes to a basketball game.
However, Stewart took full responsibility for the mishap. She told Brunson on the podcast that it was her own fault for choosing that footwear while sitting so close to the action. The admission seemed to put the Knicks guard at ease. Brunson, for his part, admitted he does not even remember the moment of impact — a testament to the intensity with which he plays.
The apology, it turns out, came well before the podcast taping. According to Bleacher Report, Brunson’s father, Rick Brunson — who serves as an assistant coach for the Knicks — ran into Stewart in the Hamptons after the incident. That chance encounter led to a FaceTime call in which Jalen personally apologized. He also sent Stewart a signed basketball for her grandson Truman, who had previously accompanied her to a Knicks game at the Garden, NBC New York reported.
Stewart came to the podcast bearing a parting gift of her own. She left Brunson with a copy of her X-ray — physical proof of the damage his hustle had caused. The gesture drew laughs from the hosts and underscored the good-natured tone of the entire exchange.
By the time of the podcast appearance, Stewart said her foot had fully healed. She now views the whole episode as something “silly, stupid, and funny,” a far cry from the pain she experienced that May evening. The lifestyle mogul’s willingness to laugh about it seemed to close the chapter on one of the NBA’s more unusual courtside incidents.
Meanwhile, Brunson has continued to thrive on the court. As of late March 2026, he was leading the Knicks in scoring with 26.3 points per game and in assists with 6.7 per game, according to Just Jared. The Knicks held the third seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-26 record and eight games remaining in the regular season — positioning themselves for another deep playoff run where courtside fans may want to think twice about their footwear.
