Christina Applegate Says Her 'Only Plastic Surgery' Was Eye Bag Removal, After a Producer Called Them Out When She Was 27
The actress said on her podcast that a producer called the bags under her eyes "so big" while she was filming a show
Christina Applegate is opening up about feeling pressured to get plastic surgery.
On the Tuesday, July 30 episode of her MeSsy podcast with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the 52-year-old actress revealed the "one plastic surgery" she's had done.
"At 27 years old, I was on a show and the one of the producers, very famous people who did a very famous show as well, said, 'Hey, we're having trouble lighting under your eyes. Your bags under your eyes are so big,' " Applegate recalled, pointing out that undereye bags are a "hereditary thing, and continuing, "And he goes, 'I suggest you get them removed.'
Applegate says it was a moment when "people just plant...seeds into your head" that caused her to feel a sense of "shame" — and at the time, she didn't feel like she could push back: "And you know what I did? At 27 years old, I had the the only plastic surgery I've ever had was to remove the bags under my eyes."
During the conversation, the friends, who both have multiple sclerosis (MS), shared stories of TV executives critiquing their appearance. When Sigler recalled an editor telling her that the way she walked didn't "look right," Applegate jumped in to say, "Then they need to f---ing film us differently. That's the thing."
The Dead to Me alum also expressed her worry that speaking candidly about the way actresses are treated on sets could cause problems for her going forward,
"We talk about a lot about fear of going back to work and, you know, and I'm having, like, this idea of, like, I might want to," she said. "And now I'm like, 'Oh, s---, we're being so honest about this. Are they gonna think that I'm not gonna be able to do it?'"
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Applegate, who was diagnosed with MS in 2021, previously shared that she had liposuction on her legs when she was about 26. "I had a teeny, teeny, tiny, teeny, bit of fat on my leg in the back. And our doctor actually performed this surgery on me," the Emmy winner said during the May 2024 episode.
The actress also spoke about having anorexia during her 10-year run on Married with Children, adding that she had "never spoken" about the eating disorder in public.
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"I wanted my bones to be sticking out, so I didn't eat," she remembered.
At age 15, when the sitcom was just beginning, Applegate says her mom put her in Weight Watchers. "She was always competitive," said the actress. "If I got down to 110 [pounds], she'd be like... 'How'd you do it?' And the reason was, I had an eating disorder. I would eat five almonds in a day. And if I had six, I would cry and I wouldn't want to leave the house. And that stuck with me for years and years and years."
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