Christina Applegate Uses Humor to Deal With Unkind Comments From People Post MS Diagnosis | “See Me the Way I Am”

Christina Applegate knows how to shut down haters. The Dead to Me actress, 51, said she spoke up to someone on social media who commented on a PEOPLE article about her and her daughter at the Critics Choice Awards and received a startling message in response. ​​"Sooooo I made the unfortunate decision to look at some comments on an article from people mag about me and my kids at the CCA," Applegate tweeted. "Of course, I told her that it wasn't nice. This was her reply."

She also shared a screenshot of the messages with her tweet, which read, "MS didn't make you look that way a plastic surgeon did. And you are a scammer and are not [Christina] Applegate." A second message read, "And a bad plastic surgeon at that." Reacting to the messages, Applegate wrote, "What is wrong with people? By the way, I laughed."

The 28th Critics Choice Awards in January was the first award show the actress attended since confirming her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnoses in 2021. At the ceremony, she was nominated for best actress in a comedy series, which Jean Smart won for her performance in Hacks. Before attending the show, the actress wrote on Twitter, "So this Sunday will be the first awards show I have been to since 2019. And the first since MS. NERVOUS! But grateful to the @CriticsChoice for including me." 

Her first post-diagnosis public appearance was at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, during which she received a coveted star for her work as an actor, reported PEOPLE. Here, Applegate said in her speech, "The most important person in this world is my daughter.” She added, “You are so much more than even you know. You are so beautiful and kind and smart and interesting. I’m blessed every day that I get to wake up and take you to school… thank you for standing by me through all of this", as per Variety. She also returned to work on the third and final season of Netflix's Dead to Me.

She also discussed the challenges she has faced since her diagnosis in an interview in November 2022, with the New York Times. She said, "This is the first time anyone's going to see me the way I am. I put on 40 pounds, I can't walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that." She further told the publication. "If people hate it, if people love it, if all they can concentrate on is, 'Ooh, look at the cripple,' that's not up to me. I'm sure that people are going to be, like, 'I can't get past it.' "

In another interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show,  the actress shared that she uses humor to make people feel more comfortable when they're around her. "My humor shield keeps me okay, but of course, down on the insides, you feel the things," Applegate said. "I do it to kind of deflect and then also make people not be scared to be around me," she added. "You know, when people see me now as a disabled person, I want them to feel comfortable," she explained. "That we can laugh about it."

References:

https://twitter.com/1capplegate/status/1615395741249474565?s=20&t=KwnrfcRfSHnS6_08kmQRyw

https://people.com/health/christina-applegate-slams-comment-saying-plastic-surgery-changed-her-looks-not-ms/

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/christina-applegate-plastic-surgery-shuts-down-commenter-1235493379/

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/christina-applegate-plastic-surgery-shuts-down-commenter-1235493379/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/arts/television/christina-applegate-dead-to-me.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XrkRUoPR6c

https://people.com/style/critics-choice-awards-2023-christina-applegate-dead-to-me-manicure-matching-shoes-with-daughter/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Matt Winkelmeyer