Christina Applegate mentions illness and jokes 'body not by Ozempic' at the Emmys
Christina Applegate joined in poking fun at the Ozempic craze in Hollywood at the Emmys on Monday.
The Emmy-winning actor, who was met with a standing ovation, presented the award for supporting actress in a comedy series at the 75th Emmy Awards and made a few self-deprecating jokes before looking back on her past roles.
"Oh my god you're totally shaming me with disability by standing up," said Applegate, who is nominated for lead actress in a comedy series. "It's fine … Body not by Ozempic."
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"Some of you may know me as Kelly Bundy from 'Married With Children,'" she continued, jesting that the audience didn't need to applaud every time she does something. "Or Samantha from 'Samantha Who' or probably, maybe my last job: Jen Harding from 'Dead to Me.'"
"But very few of you probably know me from [my] debut — I'm gonna cry more than I've been crying — Baby Burt Grizzell on 'Days of Our Lives.' It was really a breakout."
The actor said that she was honored to have portrayed funny, flawed, complex characters throughout her decades-long career.
Read more: Even with MS, Christina Applegate wraps 'Dead to Me' with help from her loving co-star
The dark comedy “Dead to Me” wrapped its third and final season on Netflix, but in the middle of shooting the show’s last season in 2021, Applegate began having leg pain and tremors. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Applegate made her way to the Emmys lectern on Monday with the aid of a cane and was escorted by host Anthony Anderson.
“It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition,” Applegate wrote in a tweet in 2021. “It’s been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps going.” She added in a later post: “Now I ask for privacy. As I go through this thing.”
Multiple sclerosis — also known as MS — affects the nervous system and often results in progressive physical and cognitive decline. More than 2.3 million people have a diagnosis of MS worldwide, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Nearly 1 million people over the age of 18 live with a diagnosis of MS in the U.S., the nonprofit organization adds.
Read more: Selma Blair urged Christina Applegate to get tested for MS after clocking this symptom
After a break in filming to absorb the news and begin treatment, Applegate insisted on returning to complete the series. The actor, who’s been working practically since birth, had to rely on others as never before, letting the production know what she could and couldn’t do. “They were incredible,” she told The Times of the crew, led by creator and showrunner Liz Feldman, whom she calls “Jen and Judy combined into a human, in the most perfect and beautiful way possible.”
Applegate noted that she never worked harder on a job. “I was a wreck every day, but most of that wreck would take place in my trailer by myself. But there were times I’d break down on set and be like, ‘I can’t, we have to take a break, I need a half-hour,’ and everyone was so loving that it was OK.”
Applegate has been nominated for an Emmy eight times and scored an Emmy in 2003 for a guest spot on “Friends” playing Rachel Green's sister.
Times contributor Lisa Rosen contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
