- Christina Applegate said she gained 40 pounds after her MS diagnosis and uses a cane.
- She refused to let changes in her health affect the ending of her Netflix series Dead to Me.
- “Acceptance? no I will never accept that. I’m mad,” Applegate told the New York Times.
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In a recent interview with New York Times reporter Alexis Soloski, Christina Applegate spoke about how her body and mobility have changed after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“This is the first time anyone has seen me for who I am,” Applegate said, reflecting on the fact that the third and final season of her Netflix show Dead To Me will be released on November 17. “I hung up 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I’m very aware of all of this.”
The actress, who has worked in Hollywood since she was a child, said her confidence doesn’t mean she has accepted how her life has changed because of MS, a neurological disease that has varying symptoms but often involves seeing, speaking and speaking impaired. and mobility, according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It can also cause cognitive problems, including problems with attention, memory, and concentration, the site reported.
Christina Applegate attends “Dead To Me” #NETFLIXFYSEE For Your Consideration event at Netflix FYSEE in 2019. Amy Sussman/Getty Images
MS occurs when the myelin sheath — a protective covering that surrounds nerves — is damaged. This damage disrupts the nervous system’s communication between the brain and body and can result in some of the symptoms listed above.
“Acceptance? no I will never accept that. I’m angry,” Applegate told the Times.
She said that in hindsight, a clear sign of her MS showed up in 2021 when she struggled with balance while filming a dance sequence for Dead To Me. Years earlier, she reported tingling and numbness in her body, but was officially diagnosed on the set of the Netflix dramedy in the summer of 2021.
Production halted for about five months after Applegate’s diagnosis so they could be treated and “process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me,” she said.
There was even talk of completely ceasing production of the dramedy about two friends who meet in a grief group and then get caught up in all sorts of homicidal drama while sharing bottles of wine, watching The Facts Of Life and laughing at themselves even.
Linda Cardellini and Christina Applegate star in Netflix’s Dead to Me. Netflix
Applegate — who plays the no-nonsense widow, real estate agent, and mother of two alongside Linda Cardellini’s Judy Hale, a spacey, artsy hippie foil — refused to end the story early. She said she had an “obligation” to Cardellini and the show’s creator, Liz Feldman, to finish telling the story the way it was intended.
“I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms,'” Applegate recalled. She defined these terms as needed when filming resumed.
Some accommodations included wheelchair transport to the set and fewer hours of work in the heat. Some days she couldn’t come to work at all. But the Times reported that changes to the script are seldom as necessary as adjustments to a scene’s locking.
The Bad Moms star told the Times that she won’t be watching the final season of Dead To Me because it was said to be “too painful.”
Applegate has been acting since kindergarten. Said Adyani / Netflix
Whether her MS will be apparent on the show or alter viewers’ experience, Applegate said she’s worried but trying not to worry too much.
“If people hate it, if people love it, if they can just focus on, ‘Ooh, look at the cripple,’ then that’s not my fault,” she said, adding that she hopes that people can just enjoy the end of the movie show.
The final season of Dead To Me will air November 17 on Netflix.