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• Posted March 12, 2024

Christina Applegate Opens Up About the Agony of Fighting MS

Actress Christina Applegate, who has been battling multiple sclerosis (MS) since 2021, shared her struggles with the debilitating disease on Monday.

“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,” Applegate noted in an interview on “Good Morning America.”

In January, Applegate received a standing ovation at the Emmys when she surprised the audience and came on stage with a cane to present an award. She cracked a joke about her condition, saying, “You're totally shaming me with disability by standing up, but it's fine.”

“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,” said Applegate, who starred in "Dead to Me" and "Anchorman" during the course of her career.

“I felt really beloved, and it was a beautiful thing,” she added.

"Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was diagnosed with MS twenty-two years ago when she was 20, joined Applegate in the interview. The two are now hosting a new podcast titled, “MeSsy.”

Multiple sclerosis is a disease that disrupts the flow of information between the brain and body, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The immune system attacks the protective sheath around the body's nerves, producing unpredictable symptoms including pain, fatigue or even paralysis.

More information

Visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for more on MS.

SOURCE: NBC News