Christina Applegate has admitted she’s living ‘in hell’ after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and revealed it took a lot for her to attend the 2024 Emmy Awards in January because it’s ‘a bit hard’ to go out.
During an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, the 52-year-old actress said she was ‘so freaked out’ at the star-studded ceremony when she took the stage to present the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
“I actually blacked out a bit,” she told 63-year-old Robin. ‘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 was so freaked out I didn’t even know what was happening anymore’.
When asked if she felt the love after performing at the 75th Emmy Awards, she replied: ‘I mean, yeah, yeah. I’m living in a bit of hell… I’m not out much so it’s a bit hard just for my system, but yes of course the support is wonderful and I’m really grateful.’
Christina Applegate has admitted she’s living ‘in hell’ after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021
The 52-year-old actress admitted she was ‘so freaked out’ when she appeared on stage at the Emmy Awards in January 2024
Christina had the support of a male host as she presented an award and also used a cane
The Married… with Children actress looked stunning as she took to the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles earlier this year wearing a floor-length burgundy Christian Siriano gown and using a cane to help her walk.
Christina received a standing ovation on the night and decided to make light of the beautiful moment as she told the famous crowd: ‘You’re totally ashamed of disability by getting up, that’s fine!’
Touching on that moment again with Robin, she said: ‘I felt really loved and it was a beautiful thing’, before making another joke, adding: ‘I just want to say this, the audience stood up for everyone! ‘
Christina sat down with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler for her Good Morning America interview.
The 42-year-old Sopranos actress was diagnosed with MS when she was 20 years old, while Christina was 40 when she started experiencing symptoms of the disease, which affects the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
Last year, Christina said she may never act in front of a camera again because of her battle with multiple sclerosis.
The actress said she had been thinking about what her future might look like and shared it Vanity Fair: ‘I can’t even imagine starting right now.
‘This is a progressive disease. I don’t know if I’ll get worse. With MS, it’s never a good day. You just have little bad days,’ she explained.
The Bad Moms star sat down with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who also has MS, as she spoke to Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts
Christina admitted that she doesn’t go out much because it’s ‘a bit hard’ on her system
The mother-of-one said she “kind of blacked out” during her Emmy performance and can’t remember what she said
Christina pictured with her teenage daughter Sadie at the 29th SAG Awards in February 2023
‘There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that I took for granted. Going down the stairs, carrying things – you can’t do that anymore. It’s fucking cool, she continued.
‘I can still drive my car short distances. I can bring food to my child. Up, never down.’
The Dead To Me actress confirmed she had turned to a friend to help her look after her 13-year-old daughter Sadie, who she shares with husband Martyn LeNoble, 54, and a caretaker is coming over the weekend to do , what is necessary.
She admitted: ‘I don’t actually want to be around a lot of people because I’m immunocompromised. I also don’t want a lot of nervous system stimulation because it might be a little bit too much for me. I like to keep it as quiet and as soft as possible.’
Christina received her MS diagnosis back in August 2021, just before production began on the third and final season of her Netflix series Dead to Me.
“None of us knew that I would get sick and gain 40 pounds from medication and have immobility,” she explained.
‘I probably won’t work on camera again, but I’m so glad I went out with someone who is by far the best actress I’ve ever worked with in my entire life, if not the best person I’ve ever met. “ever knew it,” she said of her co-star Linda Cardellini, 48.
Christina has also had huge support from her friend Jamie-Lynn as well as fellow actress Selma Blair, who was diagnosed with MS in August 2018.
Christina pictured at the 71st Emmy Awards in 2019 a few years before her MS diagnosis
Christina was joined by her Married… with Children co-stars David Faustino and Katey Sagal as she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2022
Speaking about the guidance Jamie-Lynn gave her about setting boundaries, Christina revealed: ‘She was like, “You’ve got to tell them (what you need) now that you’ve let it out of the bag”. ‘
The veteran actress said she wished she had received the same advice when she was recovering from breast cancer following her diagnosis in 2008 while filming TV sitcom Samantha Who?
‘I didn’t speak up for my limits then. I should have asked for some more time after one of my operations. I went back to work two weeks after my reconstruction. And that was really hard for me to do,’ she said.
Christina announced that she was cancer-free after undergoing a double mastectomy in July 2008, although cancer was found in only one of her breasts. She revealed that she had the inherited genetic trait, a BRCA1 mutation, which can trigger breast and ovarian cancer.