Christina Applegate, the US actress best known for her roles in Anchorman and Dead To Me, has said she is living “kind of in hell” after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Applegate, 52, who found out she had the potentially debilitating auto-immune disease in 2021, told Good Morning America: “I live kind of in hell. I’m not out a lot, so this is a little difficult, just for my system.
“But of course, the support is wonderful, and I’m really grateful.”
Christina Applegate walks the red carpet at the Emmy Awards. Pic: AP
The actress used her appearance on the ABC show to promote MeSsy, a newly-launched podcast she is making with fellow actress and Sopranos star, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, 42, who was diagnosed with MS when she was 20 years old.
The interview follows Applegate’s surprise appearance at January’s Emmy Awards, when she received a standing ovation after entering the stage using a cane.
She even made a joke about her condition, saying: “You’re totally shaming me with disability by standing up, but it’s fine.”
But rather than feeling triumphant, she admitted she “kind of blacked out” in that moment.
She said: “People said, ‘Oh, you were so funny,’ and I’m like, I don’t even know what I said. I don’t know what I was doing. I got so freaked out that I didn’t even know what was happening anymore.”
But, she said, she “felt really beloved, and it was a beautiful thing”.
Applegate first shared her diagnosis in 2021 through social media and has provided updates about her health ever since.
Earlier this month, she posted a picture of herself leaning on a cane to celebrate reaching 100,000 followers on Instagram.
Describing herself as “a lady with a cool cane”, she thanked fans “from the bottom of my heart”.
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Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance, the NHS says on its website.
A lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability, people with the condition have a slightly reduced average life expectancy.
The immune system attacks the body’s nerve linings, producing unpredictable symptoms including pain, fatigue or even paralysis, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
It says more than 130,000 people in the UK have MS.