Admittedly, Kristen Johnston says uncomfortable footwear “throws me for a lupus.”
“I go more for comfort — UGGs and flip-flops,” the comedic-actress tells Footwear News on Saturday at the Lupus LA Orange Ball at Fox Studios in Los Angeles.
Pointing to her black heels that she teamed with a plunging Christian Siriano red dress, she adds, “This is about as much as I go — one-inch heels.”
The “3rd Rock From the Sun” actress was reunited with her former costar Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the gala, where he presented her with the Loop Award.
Praising Johnston’s contributions as an ambassador for Lupus LA, Gordon-Levitt said he’s “really proud” of her involvement with the charity. “It’s not surprising to me that she would confront the s—t out of this thing and get involved with Lupus LA and let people know what the disease is.”
My very fave pic from the night…myself, @hitRECordJoe & @iWayneKnight celebrating hilarious pics of JGLs son. pic.twitter.com/0sFwzihJRQ
— kristen johnston (@kjothesmartass) May 8, 2016
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks cells within the body because it cannot tell the difference between sick infected cells (viruses, bacteria, germs) and healthy ones. The disease can cause, pain, inflammation and damage throughout the body. More than 1.5 million Americans suffer from lupus, including singers Selena Gomez and Toni Braxton.
In 2013, Johnston announced that she was diagnosed with lupus. She tells FN that it was her 18th doctor who helped her through the health crisis.
“Dr. Wallace from Lupus LA — he saved my life,” she explains. “He was my 18th doctor. After two weeks in the Mayo Clinic, months and months in a wheelchair and neck brace, he told me if I waited another two weeks I would be a permanent quadriplegic. Within six to eight months, I was in remission and I have been ever since.”
The event, which has raised more than $4 million for lupus research since 2000, was attended by her friends and supporters. Actor and TV personality Terrence J. served as the night’s emcee, and musicians Ryan Cabrera and Howie Day provided entertainment.
“Creed” actor Michael B. Jordan looked dapper in black Oxfords that had tan piping to match his brown suit.
Cabrera showed off his edgy-trendy style in a blue blazer by Top Shop, black trousers, a low-slung gray Zara T-shirt and blue suede shoes from the label. Sharing his style advice with FN, Cabrera suggests buying “two of everything you love.”
“I had a pair of my favorite shoes that I wore all of the time — a pair of Louboutin shoes that had spikes everywhere,” he recalled. “I literally wore them so much they are like fossils, but I couldn’t find them again. Because of that, now I buy two of everything I love — that’s the key, buy two of everything you love.”
Actor David Henrie says he favors dress shoes nowadays. “I was in Naples and Scilly (Italy) a few years ago and got a lot of leather shoes and boots,” the 26-year-old says, adding that he enjoys the handmade footwear’s fine details. “It’s not mass-produced, so they put their heart and souls into it.”
His tastes have changed since he was a big fan of Nike kicks when he was 13 years old.
“I was shooting a TV show with rappers Method Man and Red Man — literally, right down there,” he recalls, pointing to the Fox Studios lot. “It was called ‘Method and Red’ on Fox. They had a whole truck of shoes that they got brought in. Seeing all their shoes was so cool and I had my first Air Force 1s doing that.”
His brother Lorenzo Henrie says that although he donned Calvin Klein shoes for the event, but “every day I wear Vans.” In fact, on his show “Fear the Walking Dead,” his character wears the label. “I’m wearing Vans on the show,” he shares. “I get to have a good say in what I wear because the kid is 16, so I try to make him look youthful, but at the same time as the season’s progressing I want him to grow out of it, so I put in my two cents on what he should wear.”
Click here to learn more about Lupus LA.
