Christina Applegate, who has been vocal about living with multiple sclerosis, criticized Candace Owens this week for mocking an underwear ad featuring a model in a wheelchair.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, the "Dead to Me" star posted a series of tweets denouncing the conservative pundit's dismissive remarks and advocating for more accessibility in the clothing industry. Applegate's tweets come a few weeks after Owens deemed the disability-friendly Skims campaign unnecessary and "ridiculous" on her eponymous podcast.
"Yes late tweet. But woke to see the most horrifying thing," Applegate wrote Thursday.
"This Candace person making comments about companies who see we need help. It's f— gross. I thank skims and Tommy [Hilfiger] and Guide beauty and @neowalksticks for seeing ... us. To [Owens] #youshouldknowbetter."
In February, Owens derided a social media promo for Skims' "Adaptive Fits Everybody Scoop Bralette" — which according to the brand's website includes a "hook and eye front closure for added accessibility of dressing." The ad featured the tagline, "SKIMS — made for every body," and a woman in a wheelchair modeling the clay-colored bralette and matching underwear.
Skims is a clothing, underwear and shapewear line launched by beauty mogul and reality TV star Kim Kardashian in 2019.
"I don't know why this needs to be done," Owens said in response to the ad. "I'm just getting tired of this all inclusivity thing."
Applegate was among many in the disability community and beyond who rebuked Owens' statements. Owens replied to the backlash Wednesday in a podcast episode titled, "Sorry, Representation Does Not Matter," by doubling down on her remarks and arguing that "everything is not meant to be for you."
"Going to try and sleep but my rage is keeping me awake," Applegate tweeted on Thursday.
"Candace Owens, do you know when you have seen pictures of me how f— hard it was to get my clothes on? A team has to help me!!! So I'm excited for accessibility clothing for me and my community."
Owens responded to Applegate Thursday via Twitter and admitted she "did not know that this particular ad featured a specific technology designed for people with disabilities, which was an honest mistake."
"What we thought it was at the time, was another nonsensical 'representation matters' DEI initiative which I strongly feel patronizes the people it purports to represent ... This wasn't that and we simply got it wrong," Owens continued.
"If you felt personally targeted by this mistake, I apologize to you. We simply did not know ... that the underwear was created for disabled access."
The model from the Skims ad, Haleigh Rosa, also reacted to Owens' rant in an interview with Yahoo Life. Rosa — who is paralyzed from the waist down because of a spinal cord injury — admitted she was "shocked" upon hearing Owens' comments and worried about the damage the provocateur's words might inflict on disabled youth.
"I'm OK," she said. "I've ... been in touch with a lot of people in the disability community today and I have to say, there is really nothing like it. Everyone has each other's back."
Since announcing her MS diagnosis in August 2021, Applegate has been open about what she called a "tough" journey with the chronic illness, which affects the nervous system and can often cause physical and cognitive decline. In November 2022, she made her first public appearance following her diagnosis to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During the ceremony, the "Married ... With Children" alum delivered a humorous speech acknowledging her disability and carried a striped cane.
"I thought my last tweet was enough. But then my heart said something else. No rage," Applegate continued on Thursday.
"If Candace wants to get on the phone with me to be educated on being disabled. I will not come with anger. I will come with love. Because she needs to hear that. I pray for her tonight.sincerely."
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