Christina Applegate Offers Unfiltered Take on Coping With MS

Christina Applegate at the presentation of the 77th Golden Globe Awards.

Christina Applegate wasn't kidding when she said having a "very sick sense of humor" has been a crutch while navigating her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.

On Monday, the Dead to Me actress sat down with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to promote her new podcast MeSsy, which she co-hosts with Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who was also diagnosed with MS.

But before the interview began, Applegate, 52, started cracking jokes.

"I was thinking wouldn't it be funny if I came out and I did a somersault like Willy Wonka? And then I was like ta-da, you'd be like, ''What a b---h. She is such a liar.' I'm not. I literally am disabled," Applegate quipped.

To which, Kimmel, 56, replied, "I learned from our text exchanges you have a very sick sense of humor."

And while he's certainly not wrong, humor is more than just a laugh to Applegate; it's one of the coping mechanisms she's employed to help her since being diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2021.

"It's how I live," Applegate shared. "It's how I keep myself okay."

"I like it. I think that's good," Kimmel said. "I think that's the way to go for sure."

And he'd be right, as according to the Married With Children alum, her other option would be crying–or being "really, really pissed" all the time.

"You probably do a little bit of that, I'm sure," Kimmel added.

"Every day, when I wake up. It's fine," Applegate responded.

Moving on, Kimmel asked how she's been doing as she continues to battle MS, and her response was just further proof that humor helps her cope.

"I mean, it sucks. I'm not going to lie. And I think anyone who has MS isn't going to be like, 'This is the best thing that ever happened to me,'" she said.

"It really isn't," the award-winning actress now-turned-comedian continued. "Because that would mean you have a really crappy life if that's the best thing, the best thing that ever happened to you is something like this."

"It was a joke," Applegate said to the audience. "You guys don't get me!"

Applegate has been on a roll when it comes to raising awareness about MS by opening up about her experience battling the disease, which she's likened to "living in hell."

She also previously opened up about the "frightening reality" of the diagnosis, explaining its impact on several of her daily tasks, including showering, using the stairs and carrying things.

There are "certain things that people take for granted in their lives," she shared, "that [she] took for granted," too.

Next: Christina Applegate Claims She’s Been Putting on an Act for 40 Years: ‘I Don’t Care Anymore’