I Love You All So Much, Christina Applegate Says in Her Emotional First Public Appearance Since Receiving Her MS Diagnosis

 

Christina Applegate attends the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, 2019, in Los Angeles. / google image

She is persevering. Christina Applegate accepted her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the public for the first time since disclosing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

While filming the third and final season of the comedy, the actress, 50, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (streaming Thursday on Netflix). It was "as difficult as you could possibly imagine," she told Variety in an interview published last Wednesday.

Applegate recounted, "I got diagnosed while we were working." "I had to call everyone and say, 'I have multiple sclerosis, guys.' Then it was about us all learning what I was capable of.

As a result of her MS agony, the actress "took on 40 pounds" and couldn't "walk without a cane," according to a revealing New York Times feature published Nov. 1.

In "Dead to Me," Christina Applegate portrays Jen Harding, while Linda Cardueline plays Judy Hale. / google image

Christina Applegate recognizes the signals as she looks back. She became unbalanced during filming a dance routine for the first season of the Netflix wine-mom comedy "Dead to Me." Her tennis game deteriorated later on. Applegate, an actress who despises special pleading, didn't offer any justifications at the time. She told herself she needed to put in more effort. She needed to try once more.

"I was identified while we were at work," she explained. "I had to call everyone and say, 'I have sclerosis, guys,'" she says. "Wait, what the f—-?" Then it was a matter of learning—all of us learning—what I was worthy of.

While she discovered she was capable of completing her work on the series after a five-month pause in production, she now fears she may not be capable of doing so again.

She does, however, intend to continue working in the entertainment industry, albeit in a series configuration.

Cardellini and Applegate in Season 3 of "Dead to Me."

The reality is, Applegate is really not sure what lies ahead for her, either onstage or off, as she explores the "weird path" that is MS.

And she isn't shutting anything out.

"I'm just getting started," she explained. "I'm attempting to figure it out, and I'm also in mourning for the person that I used to be." I need to find a place that's as kind as my set was, where people won't think I'm a diva if I say, "Hey, I could only work five hours."