Christina Applegate hits back after Candace Owens says ad with woman in wheelchair is 'ridiculous'

Christina Applegate has hit out at author Candace Owens after she described an underwear ad featuring a woman in a wheelchair as 'ridiculous'.

Owens actually made the controversial comments in her Daily Wire talk series last year, but Applegate brought them into the spotlight again after coming across a clip from the show this week.

Whenever you doubt your self worth, just watch this video and be glad you’re not Candace Owens pic.twitter.com/34pShei9bw

— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) March 22, 2023

The ad referenced by Owens comes from Kim Kardashian's brand SKIMS, and features a model in a wheelchair wearing the brand.

No one needs telling that people in wheelchairs need underwear just as much as every other person on Earth, but that didn't stop Owens branding the ad as an attempt at 'inclusivity'.

"I don’t really understand how far we’re going to take this inclusivity thing," she said on her show. "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."

Owens' shocking comments didn't stop there, as she continued: "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 was stunned by the comments and took to Twitter to slam Owens, whose words she described as 'horrifying'.

"This Candace person making comments about companies who see we need help. It’s f***ing gross," Applegate said.

"I thank skims and Tommy and Guide beauty and @neowalksticks for seeing us."

In a follow-up post, Applegate continued: “Going to try and sleep but my rage is keeping me awake. Candace Owens, do you know when you have seen pictures of me how f***ing 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.”

The bra featured in the ad features a 'hook and eye front closure for added accessibility of dressing'.

Applegate then shared another tweet to say that 'if Candace wants to get on the phone with [her] to be educated' then she would not 'come with anger'.

In response, Owens said she could 'welcome a discussion' with Applegate. She also tried to explain that segment about 'absurd [Diversity, Equity & Inclusion] initiatives' was part of a regular feature on her show, and said it was an 'honest mistake' that she didn't know the ad featured 'a specific technology designed for people with disabilities'.

"What we thought it was at the time, was another nonsensical ‘representation matters’ [Diversity, Equity & Inclusion] initiative which I strongly feel patronizes the people it purports to represent…This wasn’t that and we simply got it wrong," Owens wrote.

“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."

Applegate didn't respond directly to Owens, but shared another tweet thanking SKIMS for 'showing how beautiful the disabled community is'.

"And for your adaptive line for those of us with mobility issues," she continued. "Not sure how you could not appreciate this and think it was an 'honest mistake'."

Applegate announced in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and has since appeared at events using a cane to help her walk.