Rosie O’Donnell Says 19-Year-Old Daughter Chelsea Is ‘OK’ After Reported Overdose

Suzy Byrne
·Editor, Yahoo Entertainment

Although Rosie O’Donnell made inroads with her daughter Chelsea this summer, the teen is still in what Rosie once called “the rapids.”

On Wednesday, the comedian finally addressed reports that Chelsea, 19, had overdosed and was hospitalized. “She is ok,” the one-time View co-host and mom of five tweeted along with an old photo of Chelsea, pre-pink hair, and the hashtag “#RealLife.”

Radar Online reported that on Monday evening, Chelsea — with whom Rosie reunited this summer after a very public estrangement — suffered a drug overdose and was rushed to a hospital on Long Island, N.Y., where she lives with her new boyfriend, Nick Alliegro. (Chelsea recently changed her Instagram name to Chelsea Alliegro.)

On Wednesday, E! News confirmed Chelsea was hospitalized and “undergoing psychiatric evaluation.” She was “alert and awake” and “is safe,” according to a source.

It was at that point that Rosie posted her tweet.

Rosie’s drama with her daughter, whom she adopted as a baby, is well documented. Last summer, Chelsea ran away from home, and stopped taking her medication, amid a dispute with the comedian. She was found living at the New Jersey home of a man with a criminal record. She later went to live with her birth mother, but that didn’t work out. To make money, the teen sold her story to the Daily Mail and publicly ripped Rosie to shreds.

There seemed to be a rapprochement between the women this summer, though. Chelsea and her boyfriend joined Rosie and her sibling Vivienne at a benefit for Fran Drescher’s charity in June. Chelsea later accompanied her family on their summer vacation. Rosie also wished her a happy 19th birthday in August, writing, “What a difference a year makes.”

Back while the drama was playing out between them, Rosie told Entertainment Tonight, “I have a daughter who’s in a crisis. Any mother or father who’s ever had a child in crisis, they know it’s upsetting until your child is once again safely on the shore and not in [the] rapids.”

As Chelsea navigates the rapids, Rosie is still waiting for her to permanently come ashore.