Back in February, Christina Applegate arrived at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards with a cane that had a message to multiple sclerosis, the spine and brain disease that she was diagnosed with back in 2021: "FU MS." That sentiment spurred the actress's latest project, a collection of canes with the U.K. company Neo Walk that all bear a similar message.
People reports that Neo Walk worked with Applegate to design her SAG cane and together, they've created a new line of walking sticks with a removable tag that reads "FU MS." The canes, which are available now, cost about $150 and Neo Walk has committed 5% of the profits to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America and the U.K.’s MS Society. The canes also include a metal tag (the FU MS charm is removable, as well) that can be customized with just about any message shoppers can dream up.
The clear acrylic cane that Applegate worked on features a black DNA strand spiraling through it, which “symbolizes the invisible differences people have with chronic illness."
Applegate connected with Neo Walk thanks to her pal Selma Blair, who also has MS. “I saw Selma’s canes and fell in love with them,” Applegate said. “If I need to have a mobility aid, I might as well have a cool one. Lyndsay and I became friends and we decided to create one together that benefits the community.”
The cane collaboration is one of the projects Applegate has taken on since she told the Los Angeles Times that her attendance at the SAG Awards was her "last awards show as an actor, probably," and that she would probably have to step away from acting in general. She shared, "I couldn't imagine getting up at 5 a.m. and spending 12 to 14 hours on a set; I don't have that in me at this moment."