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Christina Applegate joked onstage that her body is “not by Ozempic“ at the 2024 Emmy Awards.

The 52-year-old Dead to Me actor surprised audiences when she took the stage to present the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series to The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri. She was met with a massive standing ovation from the crowd, which left Applegate overwhelmed and teary-eyed.

After Applegate announced in August 2021 that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), she stayed away from the spotlight, solely making public appearances to support the final season of the popular Netflix comedy series Dead to Me, for which she has been nominated for an Emmy this year for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.

“Thank you so much,” Applegate told the audience, who were roaring with applause. “Oh my god, you’re totally shaming me with disability by standing up. It’s fine… Body not by Ozempic. OK, let’s go.” Ozempic is a prescription medication used for the treatment of diabetes. However, it has recently increased in popularity as a weight-loss method.

After the audience continued to clap with each word, Applegate joked: “We don’t have to applaud every time I do something.”

Last year, Applegate spoke with Variety before her Walk of Fame ceremony, and got candid about filming the final season of Dead to Me while grappling with MS. She told the outlet that it was as “hard as you would possibly think it would be”, and added that she had to learn how to use a wheelchair while on set.

In a separate interview with the Los Angeles Times, Applegate said that she was diagnosed with MS after experiencing tremors and leg pains in the middle of shooting. She took a break from filming to begin treatment, but insisted on returning to continue filming. She told the outlet that if it wasn’t for the crew, she wouldn’t have been able to make through the rest of the filming process. She said of the crew: “They were incredible.”

She said: “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.”

She admitted that it took her months to feel comfortable with watching herself in the final season of the show.

“I don’t like seeing myself struggling,” Applegate said. “Also, I gained 40 pounds because of inactivity and medications, and I didn’t look like myself, and I didn’t feel like myself. At some point I was able to distance myself from my own ego, and realise what a beautiful piece of television it was. All the scenes I wasn’t in were so much fun to see and experience for the very first time.”

At the time, Applegate told the outlet that she was thinking of pivoting to voiceover roles full-time so that she could continue to make money but also put less pressure on herself as an working actor with MS.

You can find The Independent’s live coverage of the best-dressed stars on the Emmys red carpet here, and our live coverage of all the latest from the awards show here.

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