Rosie O’Donnell opened up about her estranged daughter Chelsea O’Donnell during a stand-up comedy show in New York City, following a scare in August during which Chelsea had gone missing.
“I love all of my kids,” said O’Donnell while she performed at the Gotham Comedy Club on Saturday. “My daughter has been in the news. It’s been in the news, but it’s not news to the family. It’s been a decade long. As Mom, my wish is for love and peace and wait until it’s done.”
According to Entertainment Tonight, the comedian said that it was natural for an 18-year-old to rebel “in any way they can,” hinting at how Chelsea had been found with a man named Steven M. Sheerer who had previously been charged with third-degree possession of heroin with the intent to distribute.
O’Donnell adopted Chelsea in 1997.
“Chelsea just turned 18,” the comic said. “For adopted children, 18 is a magic number. At 18, they’re gonna rebel any way they can, any way they can get your attention.”
In August, Chelsea went missing and O’Donnell asked for the public’s help in finding her daughter, then 17. When Chelsea was found and turned 18 a week later, she chose to live with her birth mother in Wisconsin.
“What choice do you have but to get through? I have four other kids,” she said about Chelsea’s desire to not live with her anymore.
During a tell-all interview with the Daily Mail on Oct. 6, Chelsea dubbed her adoptive mother a “phony,” and revealed that it was tough to get along with her famous mother growing up.
“I find her not genuine a lot of the time. When we’d go out, she was a completely different person in public than at home and I had a hard time with that. It’s like two different people,” said Chelsea.
Still, O’Donnell defended her daughter, saying she has a “chemical imbalance.”
“I know about mental illness — I have my own,” Rosie said, noting that she herself is currently on anti-depressants. “I thought mental illness was failure of my character, not my chemistry.”