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Selma Blair reveals true toll of MS diagnosis in first TV interview

Actress Selma Blair sat down for a no-holds-barred TV interview while in the middle of an aggressive multiple sclerosis ‘flare-up’.

Derrick Bryson Taylor
2 min read
February 28, 2019 - 10:39AM
Selma Blair opens up about threats made to her by James Toback

Selma Blair is allowing everyone to hear her voice for the first time since announcing her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis last October.

MS is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. On Tuesday, Blair, 46, appeared on Good Morning America in an “exacerbation” of MS — resulting in spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that alters her voice.

“I am very happy to be able to put out what being in the middle of an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis is like,” the Legally Blonde actress told interviewer Robin Roberts.

“It’s interesting to put it out there, to be here to say, ‘This is what my particular case looks like right now,’” she said.

Blair, who suffers from an aggressive form of the condition, is doing well these days and even continues to work. She’s got a new Netflix show, Another Life, and hit the red carpet of the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday night with the help of a cane.

For years, Blair knew something wasn’t right but didn’t get the answers she needed until last summer.

“Ever since my son was born, I was in an MS flare-up and didn’t know, and I was giving it everything to seem normal,” she recalled. Her son, Arthur, whom she shares with ex Jason Bleick, is now 7.

Blair rocking her cane at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party this week. Picture: Getty Images/AFP
Blair rocking her cane at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party this week. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

“And I was self-medicating when he wasn’t with me,” she said. “I was drinking. I was in pain. I wasn’t always drinking, but there were times when I couldn’t take it.”

Blair faced tiring days. She said simple tasks like driving her son to school would leave her fatigued, forcing her to pull over to nap before making it back home.

“I was ashamed and I was doing the best I could and I was a great mother, but it was killing me,” the actress said. “And so when I got the diagnoses, I cried some relief. Like, ‘Oh, good, I’ll be able to do something.’”

Blair (bottom) with her co-stars in the movie that made her famous, 1999’s Cruel Intentions.
Blair (bottom) with her co-stars in the movie that made her famous, 1999’s Cruel Intentions.

She also cried because she “had to give in to a body that had loss of control.”

Speaking with Arthur about her health, he seemed to take the news well.

“And he almost cried and said, ‘Will it kill you?’” she recalled. “And I said, ‘No. I mean, we never know what kills us, Arthur. But this is not the doctor telling me I’m dying.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, OK,’ and that was it.”

At the time of her diagnosis, her doctor said in a year’s time she could have 90 per cent of her abilities back.

“Let’s meet again in a year and see if I’m better. If I’m not, and I can still have a conversation, that’s good enough.”

Blair admitted she was “a little scared” of sitting down for the interview given how the MS flare-up had affected her speech.

“My neurologist said, ‘No, this will bring a lot of awareness, because nobody has the energy to talk when they’re in a flare-up. But I do, because I love a camera!”

Roberts was moved to “tears of joy” after the interview plated — and fans everywhere are applauding Blair for her bravery:

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and is republished here with permission.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/selma-blair-reveals-true-toll-of-ms-diagnosis-in-first-tv-interview/news-story/9dfa4d12c406d2f78d21571d55d1504e