Rosie O’Donnell has reacted to the news of her adopted daughter’s arrest, saying the situation around Chelsea O’Donnell is “not new for our family.”
The actress and TV personality took to social media on October 19 to respond to all the headlines, which covered Chelsea’s arrest last month on charges including neglecting a child, possession of drugs, and maintaining a place for drug trafficking.
The incident saw Chelsea, a mother of four, booked into a Wisconsin jail after police conducted a search warrant of her home, with the arrest also spawning multiple misdemeanours including disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia and illegally obtained prescription drugs.
O’Donnell has now spoken out ahead of Chelsea’s scheduled appearance in court early next month, sharing an image of her eldest daughter on Instagram. The throwback photo is of Chelsea and one of her children, and O’Donnell clarified that it was taken “from a better time.”
The former The View co-host went on to write that situations like this are unfortunately “not new”, because Chelsea has “struggled with drug addiction for a decade.”
O’Donnell concluded the post by sharing her family’s hope that Chelsea “will find her way out of this deadly disease.” The actress included the hashtag Al-Anon, the organization that offers support for friends and family of those suffering from addiction. O’Donnell’s post was met with support in the comments section from the likes of Perez Hilton and RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, but others thought the message and Chelsea’s arrest was a cause for concern.
“I have to ask what a baby of 11 months was doing in that situation?,” one user wrote. “After reading the reports no child should be in an active drug addict’s care.” Others seemed to agree with this point, sharing their worry around the charge of child neglect and questioning whether O’Donnell “can… get custody of the baby” as a result of the arrest.
Elsewhere, fans suggested that O’Donnell “focus on your family” during this difficult time, and questioned why she “let[s] your grandkids stay with” Chelsea. “I’m shocked that you get to keep FOUR babies while getting arrested for felonies and being an admitted drug addict,” another user wrote.
On the whole, the reaction to the news was mostly supportive, with fans sharing their own experiences with loved ones who suffered from addiction. O’Donnell’s social media statement follows years of being estranged from her daughter, whom she only reconnected with in 2018 after a long stretch of no contact.
Before that, O’Donnell had reported a then-teenaged Chelsea missing back in 2015, after she fled their home and was found in the attic of an alleged drug dealer’s home in New Jersey days later.
Following her arrest, it was reported that Chelsea’s baby was placed under the care of friends of her boyfriend, Jacob Nelund. It was in response to a domestic dispute between the pair that first prompted police to conduct a search of Chelsea’s home, after which she was charged with child neglect. In other O’Donnell news, the actress last month offered her thoughts on the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump, and raised suspicions around how quickly his ear wound had healed.