Actor, writer, producer and social justice campaigner La La Anthony has spoken out about living with an autoimmune disease for more than a decade.
Anthony rose to fame as a VJ on MTV in the early 2000s and has been a regular staple in films and television since. She rubs shoulders with some of the biggest names in show business and considers Kim Kardashian one of her closest friends.
But her glamorous lifestyle has also involved a long battle with plaque psoriasis, which has had a big impact on her life.
More than six million people in the U.S. have plaque psoriasis, which starts as inflammation inside the body and presents outwardly as itchy, flaky patches that can cover large areas of skin.
"This is the first time I'm really talking about it publicly… but you just get that 'aha' moment where you realize 'I wasn't put in this position to not utilize my voice and my platform for good,'" Anthony told Newsweek about why she is speaking out now.
"It's also about letting people know that I'm not ashamed of it, it's not a scary thing… it was the perfect timing to do this."
Anthony, who acts in hit shows such as BMF and Power, as well as being a TV host and founding the ThreeSixty program, which offers 18 to 21-year-olds mentorships and reentry programs to help them adjust to life outside of Rikers Island jail in New York City, fought for years to find the best treatment for her plaque psoriasis.
Itchy patches appear everywhere from her scalp to behind her ears and on her eyes and eyebrows. It took a lot of trial and error with doctors to find out what worked for her.
"I've just had to figure out ways to live with it, being a public figure and someone that's on TV, whether it's how I do my hair or something that I wear or working out if I have an itchy patch, how do I cover that?" she said.
Now Anthony has the chance to share her knowledge of the disease with others through an awareness-raising interactive platform hosted by medical technology company Amgen.
"There's so many people dealing with the same thing. So I definitely thought it was a great idea to… get my story out there to help someone else that might be going through it too," she said.
"We did a really fun interactive video on momentswithlala.com where people can hear and see me talking about it, asking me questions and just understand how I've been able to live with it and still have a great life, still have a lot of fun and just be able to manage it."
Anthony described the platform as a "lighthearted way" of learning more about plaque psoriasis.
Her message to others who might also have the disease is that "life is not over"—because they're not alone.
"People should just continue to live and be confident and understand they're not alone," Anthony said. "Sometimes all people need to feel is that they're not alone in this and I'm just here to be a voice and advocate and let people know you can still be amazing, fabulous and confident and crushing [it] in every which way. Don't let this stop you."
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
