Christina Applegate Calls Out Candice Owens After ‘Daily Wire’ Host Says Idea Behind Underwear Ad Featuring Woman In Wheelchair Is “Ridiculous”

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Late last night, Christina Applegate took to Twitter to express her horror at comments made Tuesday by conservative commentator Candice Owens on her Daily Caller show in which Owens questioned a promotion for Skims’ Adaptive Scoop Bralette that features a woman in a wheelchair.

Applegate, who announced in 2021 that she has multiple sclerosis has been public about her struggles with the condition. MS can cause vision loss, pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination, and Applegate has appeared at events using a cane as she walks the red carpet.

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“Yes late tweet,” wrote the actress last night. “But woke to see the most horrifying thing. This Candace person making comments about companies who see we need help. It’s f*cking gross. I thank skims and Tommy and Guide beauty and @neowalksticks for seeing us. To you #youshouldknowbetter”

The comments to which the actress referred included the following, which Owens uttered Tuesday on her show over an image of a model in a wheelchair wearing Skims:

I don’t really understand how far we’re going to take this inclusivity thing. I really don’t get it. I don’t know. If I’m wrong, again, educate me, today. I just want to be educated in the comments. Why did they do this? I don’t know, I don’t know why this needs to be done. I’m just getting tired of this all-inclusivity thing. It seems ridiculous.

Look, I assume that people who’re in wheelchairs also have to buy bras, also have to buy underwear…I didn’t know that we needed to see that in our face. I didn’t know that now we’re going to have to look forward to campaigns where women who are in wheelchairs are now wearing bras and underwear because we as a society cannot get to the bottom of our ridiculousness.

Applegate followed her initial tweet with a personal example of why such ads — and the clothing they promote — are much-needed.

“Going to try and sleep but my rage is keeping me awake,” wrote the the Emmy-winning actress. “Candace Owens, do you know when you have seen pictures of me how fucking 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.Hope u wake”

Applegate struck a more conciliatory tone with one final tweet a few minutes later at 2:18 a.m.:

“thought my last tweet was enough. But then my heart said something else. No rage. 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”

This morning, Owens replied in the comments of that last tweet writing that she is a “huge fan” Applegate’s and that she would “welcome a discussion with you. DMs are open.”

She then tried to explain that the underwear segment was part of a regular feature on her show and that she “actually did not know that this particular ad featured a specific technology designed for people with disabilities, which was an honest mistake.”

“I think Christina, that what you may have missed is that covering absurd DEI initiatives is a recurring beat on my show. We actually did not know that this particular ad featured a specific technology designed for people with disabilities, which was an honest mistake.”

The conservative pundit went on to say that she thought the Skims promotion 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 ended with, “We create a show 5 days a week. It is an impossibility that we would not at some point make an honest mistake. If you felt personally targeted by this mistake, I apologize to you. We simply did not know (the ad did not state) that the underwear was created for disabled access.”

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