Christina Applegate has explained her decision to appear barefoot at the unveiling of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Anchorman actor was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and this was her first public appearance since revealing her illness in 2021.
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Now, the 50-year-old has been honoured on the famous star-studded street in California, and turned out to greet a delighted crowd.
She may have been walking with a cane and not wearing any shoes, but Applegate was still as sharp as ever, even toting a manicure that read ‘FU MS’ and cracking jokes during her short acceptance speech.
She said: “I can’t stand for too long so I’m going to thank the people I really need to thank.”
Those people included her 11-year-old daughter Sadie, who she described as the ‘most important person in the world’ and her husband, bass player Martyn LeNoble.
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“Thank you for standing beside me during all this,” she said.
Referring to herself as ‘the disabled lady’ at one stage, she made a self-deprecating joke at one stage, asking the audience: “Oh, by the way I have a disease. Did you not notice? I’m not even wearing shoes. Anyhoo, You’re supposed to laugh at this.”
But she later made a very serious point about why she chose not to wear shoes.
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After the fact, she tweeted out a picture of her feet standing on her star, captioning it: “Barefoot. For some with MS the feeling of shoes may hurt or make us feel off balance.
“So today I was me. Barefoot.”
Before the ceremony, Applegate had teased that she was going to be making an appearance somewhere for the first time since her diagnosis.
Sharing a picture of her various walking canes, she spoke about how she was heading for a ‘very important’ event.
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Applegate continued: “This will be my first time out since [being] diagnosed with MS. Walking sticks are now part of my new normal.”
“Stay tuned to see which ones make the cut for a week of stuff,” she added.
The actor has also hinted that her illness might have brought her acting career to an impromptu end.
Referencing her character in Netflix hit Dead to Me, she said: “Jen Harding is the one, who knows, quite possibly the last one I’ll play.
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“With my disease, I don’t know how capable I am. But this was a gift. This was a gift to me.”
Announcing her diagnosis, she had said that she’d been on a ‘strange journey’ but had been ‘so supported’.
She said: “It’s been a tough road, but as we all know, the road keeps going. Unless some a**hole blocks it.
“As one of my friends that has MS said, ‘we wake up and take the indicated action.’
“And that’s what I do. So now I ask for privacy as I go through this thing.”
She concluded: “Thank you.”
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Health, US News, Christina Applegate
Tom Wood