Christina Applegate returned to the “MeSsy” podcast one week after revealing she was misdiagnosed with MS to tell listeners that she will never stop advocating and fighting for those impacted by the disease, even if she does not have it herself. The Emmy winner said people in the MS community are still “my people.”
“Even though I don’t have this disease, I’ve fallen in love with everyone that we know, our listeners, our friends that have MS,” Applegate said to podcast co-host on the show Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was diagnosed with MS in 2001 (via Entertainment Weekly). “I’m still your warrior, and I’m still going to speak out on your behalf forever and ever. Despite not having MS. I still feel like part of this community. No matter what, I love you.”
Applegate originally revealed she had been diagnosed with MS in 2021, and retired from acting after the finale of her hit series “Dead to Me” the next year. She then became a fierce advocate for people with the disease — which causes damage to the central nervous system — and co-founded the “MeSsy” podcast as a way to share her experience and spread awareness.
On the latest episode, Applegate continued to share the symptoms she faces of a now un-diagnosed illness, explaining: “I actually timed it today, it took me 10 minutes to be able to move off my pillow and get out of the bed and stand up, at which point I almost couldn’t walk to the bathroom, and now a walker is sitting next to my bed because of what’s going on. I don’t know what’s going on. This is what I’m still living with, and I never had that before. I was able to sit up and stuff.”
After taking a seven-month break from the podcast, Applegate returned to the program on Oct. 21 and broke down in tears while telling listeners that new technology led to the discovery that she was misdiagnosed with MS.
“This may come as great news, but to me, I’m back at square one,” Applegate said. “It’s hard to say that [my doctor] came into my room and she said, ‘Congratulations, you don’t have MS.’ You don’t get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I’m better. I haven’t gotten better … If anything, I’ve gotten worse in some ways. So I’m back at square one, that I don’t know what’s going on with me.”
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Applegate added that “it’s weird because I feel like I let everybody down” after becoming such a big advocate for the MS community. She said that she’s still in a “state of shock,” adding: “It’s a mindfuck, for sure.”
Listen to the latest episode of the “MeSsy” podcast in the video below.
From Variety US