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Christina Applegate's Walk of Fame speech highlights the importance of showing up for friends

'I don't say that I have friends, I have family. These people take care of me.'

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Christina Applegate's Walk of Fame speech.

Christina Applegate was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame recently in her first public appearance since announcing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. While the "Married… With Children" alum cracked jokes, she also shined a spotlight on the importance of showing up for friends.

Applegate uses a cane to help her walk, but there was one unmistakable person standing behind her, quite literally holding her up at times—Katey Sagal. If you were a teen in the '90s you'll remember that Sagal played Peg Bundy, the mother of Applegate's Kelly Bundy in "Married… With Children."

The speech was touching on its own and watching Sagal protectively stand and wait while her TV daughter-turned-friend spoke cranked up the emotional factor. Applegate's support team didn't stop there. Her TV brother David Faustino was in attendance as well as her two co-stars from "Dead to Me" as the star choked up, explaining what they meant to her.

Friendship is something that can easily be taken for granted and it doesn't always survive the tough moments of life. But it seems as if Applegate has found a group of friends that prove how important it is to build the family you want by taking inventory of the friends that show up. Applegate fought back tears when she said, "I don't have friends, I have family. These people take care of me. They take care of me every day of my life and without them, I don't know what I would do."

If you've ever needed a reminder on how important building your community is, watch Applegate's speech. The people that show up for the hard stuff are the ones you want to surround yourself with when celebrating the better times. Check out her speech below.

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christina applegate

How Viola Davis is changing Hollywood makes her Walk of Fame star that much cooler.

The 2,597th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is going to Viola Davis.

The ceremony for Davis, who Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez described as an actress "who always mesmerizes fans with her talent," is set for Jan. 5, 2017.

Photo by Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

Davis rose to stardom after 2008's "Doubt," then snagged an Academy Award nomination for her performance in 2011's "The Help," and is currently starring on ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder" ("HTGAWM"). There's also Oscar buzz surrounding her performance in the Denzel Washington-directed "Fences." She's certainly deserving of the honor on merit alone.

Powerhouse performances aside, the news about Davis' Hollywood star feels especially right at this time given that she's often been the empowering, important breath of fresh air Hollywood so desperately needs.

Here are seven reasons to be excited about Davis' star on the Walk of Fame:

1. Davis was the first woman of color ever to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015.

"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," she said on stage during her historic victory. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there." She's got a point: Leading roles for black women are few and far between.

Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images.

2. Davis currently stars on ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder" as Annalise Keating, a queer woman of color — a type of character we don't see nearly enough.

Along with the lack of opportunity for actors and actresses of color, there's also a lack of on-screen positive representation of certain groups within the LGBTQ community. Keating, a successful lawyer, isn't defined by her bisexuality nor does the character fall into the damaging tropes we often associate with bisexual people.

"I loved the relationship," Davis told AfterEllen of Keating's on-screen romance with a woman. "There was something so natural about it. And I just thought it made sense because I think in Annalise’s life, she just migrates toward anyone who shows her love."

3. Davis demanded she not wear a wig, weave, or makeup during a powerful scene in order to better reflect underrepresented women.

"I was so adamant about it," Davis said of fighting to be wig and makeup-free in the scene on "How to Get Away With Murder." "I said, 'Listen, she can’t go to bed with her wig on. She cannot be in that bedroom with her wig on because women don’t go to bed with their wigs on.' And I said, ‘A whole portion of women out there are marginalized. I want to be a real woman. Let’s go for it.'"

GIF via "How to Get Away With Murder."

There's a long history of black women being told their natural hair is unprofessional, ugly, and distracting. Because of these (super racist) perceptions, it's not every day we see black actresses rocking their natural looks on TV. While there's of course nothing wrong with any woman wearing wigs or styling their hair whichever way they please, Davis' decision to go au naturel meant a lot to many women watching.

4. Davis has become a body-positivity champion in an industry that could use a lot of work on the topic.

At the Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, Davis accepted the first-ever #SeeHer Award, which was created by a campaign aimed at ending bias against women in the media. Her acceptance speech, focused on staying true to yourself and discovering the privilege of being who you are, instantly went viral:

"You know, when I was handed Annalise Keating, I said, 'She’s sexy, she’s mysterious, you know?' I’m used to playing women who gotta gain 40 pounds and have to wear an apron. So I said, 'Oh God, I gotta to lose weight, I gotta learn how to walk like Kerry Washington in heels, you know, I gotta lose my belly.' And then I asked myself, 'Well, why do I have to do all that?' I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are, and I just recently embraced that at 51."

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The Critics' Choice Awards.

5. Davis has spoken out about the absurdity of women — especially woman of color — getting paid less than men for doing equal work.

Actresses — even the most accomplished, successful ones — routinely get paid less than their male counterparts. It doesn't sit well with Davis.

"I’m sorry, if a woman does the same job as a man, she should be paid the same amount of money, she just should," Davis told Mashable in February 2016. "But at the same time, with me as an actress of color, I have to say to probably contradict myself, that’s not something I think about on a daily basis. Because the struggle for us as women of color is just to be seen the same as our white female counterparts."

6. Davis won't accept the unfair ways Hollywood portrays women of certain ages and body sizes when it comes to their sexuality.

"We've been fed a whole slew of lies about women," she told Elle in January 2016. "[On TV], if you are anywhere above a size two, you're not having sex. You don't have sexual thoughts. You may not even have a vagina. And if you're of a certain age, you're off the table."

7. Davis understands that life is too short to give any credence to the haters. Instead, focus on the people who love you just the way you are.

"When my father was passing — it was really a short period of time — I think that started the ball rolling," Davis told Oprah in 2012. "You don’t have time. You’re on this earth for a dash of time, really, and then that’s it. ... Knowing that, it just changed everything. I felt like I don’t have any time to stay up all night, worrying about what someone who doesn’t love me has to say about me."

Davis' acting chops are more than enough to land her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, period. But the icing on the cake tastes so much sweeter knowing the star's going to an actress making this world a better place off-screen, too.

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images.

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9 times Daniel Radcliffe was the greatest human in Hollywood.

Daniel Radcliffe is the best. Period.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, justice was finally served: Actor Daniel Radcliffe was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

"It's really an incredible honor," Radcliffe told Variety of his star. "We [Brits] have a national embarrassment about people saying nice things about us, so I was taken aback at first, but then I had a real sense of gratitude."

This is huge. Because, as every DanRad super fan knows all-too-well, there is no one — no one — more deserving of a Walk of Fame star than flawless specimen Daniel Radcliffe.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

Don't believe me? Here are seven "scientifically proven" reasons why Daniel Radcliffe isn't just an incredible actor, but one of Hollywood's most indisputably perfect humans.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

1. Is he annoyed by his "Harry Potter" fame? Hardly! Radcliffe's eternally grateful for everything the franchise has given him.

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

When quizzed about his favorite book back in 2013, Radcliffe answered, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

"It would be churlish of me not to say that it was the book that gave me everything I have."

2. He thinks it's disgusting that the term "friend zone" actually exists. And he's absolutely right.

Photo by Jens Noergaard Larsen/AFP/Getty Images.

Sometimes, when women just want to be friends with men (as opposed to dating or sleeping with them), men call this being trapped in the "friend zone." Which, of course, is essentially saying, "Women are only of value to me when they're sexually available to me." Yeah, it's awful.

When the topic got brought up during an interview with BuzzFeed, Radcliffe seized the opportunity to call it exactly what it is.

"Friend zoning is, like, a terrible thing. The idea of the 'friend zone' is a terrible male [thing] ... Have you ever heard a girl say they're in the 'friend zone'? ... I definitely think the idea of 'friend zone' is just men going 'This woman won't have sex with me.'"

3. He can rap. And like, is really, really good at it.

Remember when he shocked the "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" audience by flawlessly rapping every word of Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics"?

Yeah. He did that.

Wow.

4. Radcliffe loves (and is amazingly good at) pulling pranks on the paparazzi.

Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM.

"I would wear the same outfit every single time with different T-shirts underneath, but I would wear the same jacket and zip it up so they couldn't see what I was wearing underneath, and the same hat," he explained on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in 2007, according to CBS. "So they could take photos for six months but it would look like the same day. They became un-publishable, which was hilarious because there's nothing better than seeing the paparazzi get really frustrated."

That. Is. Genius.

5. He's bravely opened up about his struggles with — and triumphs over — a dependence on alcohol as a teen.

Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images.

"I have a very addictive personality. It was a problem," Radcliffe told Heat magazine in 2012 of being drunk on set of the "Harry Potter" films, CBS reported. "People with problems like that are very adept at hiding it. It was bad."

"You either have to change something or give into that shame."

6. Radcliffe is unapologetically feminist to his core, and thinks it's very backwards that anyone wouldn't be.

Photo by Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images.

Does Radcliffe stand for gender equality? Of course.

"There seems to be a very recent thing that you come 'out' as a feminist," he explained to British GQ last year. "It's a very weird thing. I mean, yes of course, but I'm a feminist in as much as I'm an egalitarian about everything and I believe in meritocracy. I think anyone who isn't at this point is just swimming against the tide just like people who are vaguely homophobic or racist or sexist or whatever it is. I just think 'God, you're still keeping that up? Give it up, you've lost.'"

7. Radcliffe is 100% content being short. And knows exactly how to respond when people comment on his stature.

Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images.

Radcliffe is on the shorter side, relatively speaking. And while that used to be something he thought about, those days are long gone.

"I was worried on a personal level because I wanted to be slightly taller than I am, ideally," he told MTV News in 2010. "But I've now accepted it. Basically, I came to the conclusion a while ago that you can either be really bitter about it or you can make loads of funny jokes."

Jokes? Like what?

"When I meet people now and they all say, 'God you're so much shorter than I expected!' I always say, 'No! I'm actually slightly further away than you think.'"

8. He stands up for his co-stars — especially when sexist Hollywood double standards are involved.

Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images.

During a promotional interview in 2014, Radcliffe brought up the fact that it's unfair for anyone to feel uncomfortable seeing him as sex symbol simply because they witnessed him grow up on screen, while his "Harry Potter" co-star Emma Watson had a much different experience.

"A lot of people were saying, you know, 'You're [a] really unconventional romantic lead.' And so eventually, I got bored of hearing that and like, kind of picked someone up on it. So I was like, 'What about me is unconventional exactly? Like, tell me.' And she said, 'Well, I think it's probably the fact that, you know, we associated you with playing Harry and a young boy for so long, you know.' My immediate response was, 'Well, the male population has had no problems sexualizing Emma Watson immediately.'"

9. He's been a committed ally in the fight for LGBTQ equality for years.

Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images.

Is Radcliffe offended by gay rumors? Of course not — he thinks they're "awesome," actually. And why would he be offended? He's been a vocal advocate for LGBT rights throughout his entire life in the spotlight, including his charitable work with The Trevor Project, a leading suicide prevention group helping save LGBTQ youth.

Sure, being a superb actor is great. And Radcliffe deserves that star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for that reason alone.

But being a rapping, short n' proud, feminist prankster? Now those are characteristics of Hollywood's most perfect human.

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images.

hollywood walk of fame

Christina Applegate's Walk of Fame speech highlights the importance of showing up for friends

'I don't say that I have friends, I have family. These people take care of me.'

How Viola Davis is changing Hollywood makes her Walk of Fame star that much cooler.

The 2,597th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is going to Viola Davis.

1. Davis was the first woman of color ever to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015.

2. Davis currently stars on ABC's "How to Get Away With Murder" as Annalise Keating, a queer woman of color — a type of character we don't see nearly enough.

3. Davis demanded she not wear a wig, weave, or makeup during a powerful scene in order to better reflect underrepresented women.

4. Davis has become a body-positivity champion in an industry that could use a lot of work on the topic.

5. Davis has spoken out about the absurdity of women — especially woman of color — getting paid less than men for doing equal work.

6. Davis won't accept the unfair ways Hollywood portrays women of certain ages and body sizes when it comes to their sexuality.

7. Davis understands that life is too short to give any credence to the haters. Instead, focus on the people who love you just the way you are.

Davis' acting chops are more than enough to land her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, period. But the icing on the cake tastes so much sweeter knowing the star's going to an actress making this world a better place off-screen, too.

9 times Daniel Radcliffe was the greatest human in Hollywood.

Daniel Radcliffe is the best. Period.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, justice was finally served: Actor Daniel Radcliffe was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

This is huge. Because, as every DanRad super fan knows all-too-well, there is no one — no one — more deserving of a Walk of Fame star than flawless specimen Daniel Radcliffe.

Don't believe me? Here are seven "scientifically proven" reasons why Daniel Radcliffe isn't just an incredible actor, but one of Hollywood's most indisputably perfect humans.

1. Is he annoyed by his "Harry Potter" fame? Hardly! Radcliffe's eternally grateful for everything the franchise has given him.

2. He thinks it's disgusting that the term "friend zone" actually exists. And he's absolutely right.

3. He can rap. And like, is really, really good at it.

4. Radcliffe loves (and is amazingly good at) pulling pranks on the paparazzi.

5. He's bravely opened up about his struggles with — and triumphs over — a dependence on alcohol as a teen.

6. Radcliffe is unapologetically feminist to his core, and thinks it's very backwards that anyone wouldn't be.

7. Radcliffe is 100% content being short. And knows exactly how to respond when people comment on his stature.

8. He stands up for his co-stars — especially when sexist Hollywood double standards are involved.

9. He's been a committed ally in the fight for LGBTQ equality for years.

Sure, being a superb actor is great. And Radcliffe deserves that star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for that reason alone.

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