Photo by Gage Skidmore, cropped (CC BY-SA)
The Lowdown
Christina Applegate is starting over. On the latest episode of her MeSsy podcast, the actress said she’s being tested for conditions that can mimic multiple sclerosis, a month after revealing her 2021 MS diagnosis was wrong (MeSsy; USA Today).
Key Takeaways
- Applegate said she’s going “into square one” with testing (USA Today).
- The list includes rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Lyme disease, which she said “can mimic MS” (USA Today; TV Insider).
- She has no new diagnosis yet and has said her symptoms, including fatigue and pain, haven’t changed (USA Today).
- She shared the update with guest Jack Osbourne, who has MS (MeSsy; USA Today).
- MeSsy, co-hosted with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is continuing (USA Today).
In Her Own Words
“We’re going into square one, just doing some testing and going one by one of kind of the sister diseases to MS,” Applegate told Osbourne on the Nov. 3 episode (USA Today; MeSsy).
“You’ve got RA, and you’ve got lupus and Lyme disease and all these things that kind of can mimic MS,” she said. “So, now I’m being tested for all that stuff, slowly but surely” (USA Today).
She revealed in October that a doctor had told her she does not have MS after all. She was diagnosed in 2021 and has spoken openly about the disease since, including on the podcast she launched with Sigler in 2024 (USA Today; The Independent). TMZ and TV Insider also reported the new update (TMZ; TV Insider).
Sigler said on an Oct. 27 episode that the show was always “about the messiness of life in general” and not meant to be only about MS (USA Today).
The Pit Take
In our opinion, there’s something brave about saying “we don’t know yet” out loud. Applegate built a lot of public goodwill by being blunt about MS, and she’s showing the same honesty now that the answer has fallen apart. We hope the next round of tests brings real answers. More in TV & Streaming and Celebrity.
The Background
The Emmy winner first became a household name on Married… with Children (USA Today).
Our photo is from 2014, at San Diego Comic-Con. It’s the most recent freely licensed photo of her we could find.
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More Context
- USA Today — Christina Applegate details new medical testing after MS misdiagnosis ↗
- MeSsy podcast — Jack Osbourne, from MeSsy with Christina Applegate and Jamie-Lynn Sigler ↗
- TV Insider — Christina Applegate undergoing tests for lupus and Lyme disease after MS misdiagnosis ↗
- The Independent — Christina Applegate shares health update after MS misdiagnosis ↗
- TMZ — Christina Applegate tested for other diseases ↗