Christina Applegate shares thoughts on attending first award show since MS diagnosis

Earlier this week, the actress took to Twitter to share her thoughts on attending the 2023 Critics’ Choice Awards this Sunday. Applegate, 51, is nominated for best actress in a comedy series for her performance in “Dead to Me.”

“So this Sunday will be the first awards show I’ve been to since 2019,” she wrote. “And first since MS. NERVOUS! But thank you @CriticsChoice for including me.”

One day earlier, Applegate took to Twitter to express her gratitude to the Screen Actors Guild for nominating her at the 2023 SAG Awards, in which she also received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series for Netflix, “Dead to Me.” “

“Thank you @SAGawards for this nomination today!” she wrote. “I’ve been a proud member of this union since 1975. I’ve had an incredibly tough year and today made me smile. Much love to my peers and my sweet Jean Smart and the other incredible ladies I walk next to.”

Netflix’s official Twitter account responded to Applegate’s tweet, writing, “SO DESERVED,” to which she replied, “Thank you for allowing us to make this show. It was the experience of a lifetime.”

The Critics’ Choice Awards and SAG Awards nominations mark the third time Applegate has been honored by the organizations for her role as Jen in “Dead to Me.” She was previously nominated for Season 1 and 2 in 2020 and 2021.

In August 2021, Applegate revealed that she had been diagnosed with MS and was very open about her experiences with the disease in interviews leading up to the release of the third and final season of “Dead to Me,” which hit Netflix in November.

In her NYT profile in November, the “Married with Children” alum said she had signs of MS years ago, including once losing her balance while filming a dance scene for “Dead to Me” Season 1.

“I wish I’d paid attention. But who was I to know?” she said.

After Applegate received her diagnosis, production on Season 3 of “Dead to Me” was halted for about five months so she could begin treatment.

“It was a feeling of, ‘Well, let’s give her some medicine so she can get well,'” she told the NY Times. “And not better. But it was good for me. I needed to process the loss of my life, the loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”

“Even though it’s not like I’m coming out the other side like, ‘Woohoo, I’m totally fine,'” she said. “Acceptance? No. I will never accept this. I’m angry.”

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. It can affect the flow of information from the brain to the body – although it manifests itself differently in different patients – and is incurable.

Despite her illness, the Emmy winner said she was determined to finish filming the show, noting that she felt she had an “obligation” to show creator Liz Feldman and her co-star Linda Cardellini.

“The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish this. Let’s put together a few episodes,'” she recalled. “I said, ‘No. We’ll do it, but we’ll do it on my terms.’