Megyn Kelly has been criticised by former close friend Janice Dean after questioning Christina Applegate’s decision to speak publicly about her multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
Applegate, 54, recently said that the diagnosis she received in 2021 was incorrect. The actor, who has experienced severe pain, became emotional as she acknowledged that she did not know what condition she had and was back at “square one”.
Kelly, 55, addressed the matter on the October 20 episode of her podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show.
“I cannot keep up, you guys,” she said. “I’m sorry, but like the woman who’s made like every public statement about health for the past several years all about her MS, she’s hosting an MS podcast, has now come out to tell us all she doesn’t actually have it. This has all been a wild goose chase.”
Kelly went on to criticise what she described as celebrities wanting to “lean into their health problems” and become the public face of a disease.
“She’s crying now because I guess she no longer gets to be the face of this disease,” Kelly said. “She’s made like a cottage industry of talking about her MS.”
Janice Dean backs Christina Applegate
Dean, a former Fox News broadcaster who said she has been living with MS for more than 20 years, responded to Kelly’s remarks on X.
“I’ve kept my mouth shut for a long time about mean girl Megyn Kelly,” Dean wrote. She said Kelly had once been one of her closest friends, but had stopped speaking to her after Dean objected to Kelly endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor.
“Her comments about Christiana Applegate are disgusting,” Dean continued. “Having MS for over 20 years, she knows how long it took for doctors to diagnose me.”
Dean said she believed Applegate had been “brave” to discuss the change in her diagnosis and thanked her for becoming a voice for people with MS. She added that she had been unwell for several weeks and in and out of hospital, saying she would comment further when she felt well enough.
In a further post, Dean wrote: “Oh yeah. In case you don’t know, I have multiple sclerosis and I am one of those loser people Megyn Kelly refers to as wanting to talk about my diagnosis to help others.”
Responding to a user who criticised Applegate for becoming a prominent advocate for MS, Dean said the actor had listened to doctors and spoken about an illness she believed she had before being honest about the misdiagnosis.
“Now she’s got a mean lady who has millions of followers trashing her,” Dean added.
Applegate recently returned home after spending four months in hospital amid her health problems.
