Christina Applegate’s got fighting words for multiple sclerosis.
The “Dead to Me” actress, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, presented during Monday’s Emmys 2024 ceremony wearing a gorgeous red velvet look by Christian Siriano styled with Doc Martens — and sent a message about her disorder with her eye-catching cane, which she helped design.
Created in collaboration with Neo-Walk, the stylish stick is made from clear acrylic with a black DNA strand spiraling through the center, which company founder Lyndsay Watterson tells Pvnew Style is meant to “represent the fault in our makeup that makes us have and live with different diseases.”
While the brand previously offered canes featuring the “striking” motif in other colors, there was never a question that Applegate’s would be black.
“Christina is quite a grungy kind of character; she didn’t want to be all sweetness and flowers,” Watterson says. “It needed to be a bit dark.”
Applegate’s stick is priced at £120 (about $152), and 5% of the gross sales benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America and the UK’s MS Society.
The walking aid comes with a removable “#FUMS” tag, along with a metal collar that can be personalized with the message of your choice; Watterson says Applegate opted to double down by engraving “#FUMS” there as well.
“There’s so many people all across the world now that are doing exactly the same thing — choosing to use an ability aid that says something about themselves without actually saying a word,” says Watterson, who founded Neo-Walk in 2013 after a post-operative battle with MRSA led to her having her leg amputated.
“Christina is an absolute queen to work with,” she shares. “It’s the authenticity. She’s real. We get each other’s problems. We know what we go through on a daily basis. We can laugh about s—t that other people on another day might sit down and cry about. She’s on a long journey in her life, and I’m just really proud that we’re able to be on that journey and support her as well.”
Applegate, 52, discovered Neo-Walk a couple of years ago through her friend Selma Blair, who also lives with MS.
“I saw Selma Blair’s canes and fell in love with them. If I need to have a mobility aid, I might as well have a cool one. Lyndsay and I became friends and we decided to create one together that benefits the community,” Applegate shared in a statement on the company’s website.
“I don’t know what the chances are of having two megastars like these ladies choosing to be so visible with the disease that they’re living with, and sharing a part of themselves that is very personal,” Watterson says.
“It’s very powerful, and it sends a message right across the chronic illness community that it is OK to come out and be seen. Show your good days, show your bad days, show your mobility aids, be real, be authentic.”
It’s not the first time the “Married With Children” icon has used her cane to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.
At the 2023 SAG Awards, Applegate carried a custom Neo-Walk design adorned with the “unsubtle message” of “FU MS” alongside hearts and the name of her daughter, Sadie Grace LeNoble, who attended as her date.
At the time, Applegate had said that awards show would likely be her last, making Monday’s appearance — full of the star’s signature sharp humor — a most welcome surprise.
“Thank you so much. Oh my God, you’re totally shaming me [and my] disability by standing up,” she joked during the audience’s standing ovation.
“Body not by Ozempic,” Applegate added, before telling the still-clapping crowd, “We don’t have to applaud every time I do something.”
