"Why is it ok for a woman to touch another woman without asking?" — Internet reacts to Martha Stewart pushing off Drew Barrymore mid-interview

Drew Barrymore had invited Martha Stewart as the guest on The Drew Barrymore Show on Tuesday, November 12 to pay homage to her as the "original" influencer. Stewart appeared to be uncomfortable with Barrymore's gestures mid-interview and batted her hand away as the 49-year-old started to stroke her shoulder.

Martha's push went viral on social media, with netizens taking to their X handles to comment on it, pointing out how it seemed inappropriate.

"Imagine if a man had behaved towards the way did on her show. Why is it ok for a woman to touch another woman without asking?" wrote a user.

While the intent behind the interview was to celebrate the legacy of the businesswoman, Barrymore's advances led to netizens calling her "clingy".

"Good for Martha Stewart. Why does 1 person being needy and clingy excuse bad behavior when the other person obviously is not so inclined?" - commented an X user.

"Wow... that is gross. That wasn't a gentle push, either. OMG. Good for @MarthaStewart. Where's the backlash? Oh, it was DB." - wrote another one.

"Drama alert! Martha not having it with Drew #InterviewFail #CelebrityTension" - posted a third one.

Other netizens accused Barrymore of invading other people's space.

"About time. That Drew Barrymore invades everyone's space" - commented a user.

"Drew Barrymore is a mentally ill freak" - posted a second user.

"Finally! Damn drew just gets all up in peoples business it’s so weird" - replied another netizen.

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Barrymore praised Martha Stewart for opening the door for everyone

The controversial push that led to an online uproar was the result of an off-topic question asked by Drew Barrymore while interviewing Martha Stewart yesterday.

Barrymore playfully asked Stewart what made her "soft and gooey". After a moment's pause, the 83-year-old responded with: "soft and gooey treatment."

Repeating Martha Stewart's answer, Drew proceeded to caress her arm, saying, "When you're treated like a lady?"

Martha confirmed, saying, "It's nice". To that, Barrymore responded with, "When someone comes in...," slowly stroking her shoulder, when the guest batted her hands away, pushing her in the process, and saying:

"you're the wrong gender!"

The E.T. actress fell back on the sofa, saying "I know, I know" in the process and adding:

"Although, the way it's going with men though, Martha, I'm not so sure anymore."

The uncomfortable silence between the two was soon interrupted as one of Drew's dogs jumped on the sofa. Then, she praised Martha for "opening the door for everyone" throughout her life, adding:

"As much as we're here to honor you today, I want to thank you also for honoring every person that you've influenced in the world too."

This isn't the first time Drew Barrymore has been accused of allegedly getting into the guests' personal space on her show. Last December, the 49-year-old was called "clingy, creepy, and cringe" for caressing Oprah Winfrey's arm.

Her interview with Austin Butler was also called "invasive" by views as she sat close to the actor on the sofa.

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Stewart and Barrymore hugged towards the end of the interview

While things might have gotten seemingly awkward between Barrymore and Stewart after the latter pushed her hostess away, the two did hug elsewhere on the show. Later on in the interview, Drew played a life clip of Martha's nephew and niece in Nutley, New Jersey (her hometown), where they unveiled a new street sign renamed in her honor.

Besides the interview, Martha Stewart and Drew Barrymore appeared to be on friendly terms for the year and were recently seen getting pictures clicked together as they attended the launch event for the book The Five Principles of Parenting.