Rosie O'Donnell Is Being Called Out For These "Extremely Distasteful And Disrespectful" Comments About Michelle Trachtenberg's Final Years

This station contains treatment of cause and intoxicant use.

For context: The 2 became adjacent aft appearing unneurotic successful 1996's Harriet the Spy, wherever Rosie portrayed Michelle's nanny. Tragically, Michelle was recovered dormant successful her Manhattan flat successful February 2025 astatine the property of 39, and Rosie was among those who paid tribute to her, calling the quality "heartbreaking."

"I loved her precise much. She struggled the past fewer years. I privation I could person helped," she said astatine the time, without sharing further details.

In April 2025, Michelle's origin of decease was confirmed arsenic complications of diabetes. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office shared the quality with NBC, with a root adding that Michelle had besides precocious undergone a liver transplant. The ruling came aft the aesculapian examiner had initially listed Michelle's origin of decease arsenic undetermined due to the fact that her household requested that nary autopsy beryllium performed owed to spiritual reasons. The petition was granted due to the fact that determination was nary suspicion of foul play. However, her origin of decease was amended aft laboratory trial results were reviewed.

Now, successful a caller interview with Variety, Rosie reflected connected Michelle's beingness and revealed details astir their narration successful the years earlier her death.

"It was a tragedy," Rosie said. "She was a existent genius kid who was capable to memorize anything, prime up her lines, you could improvise with her, and she was connected and close there. She was truthful adjacent to her mother, Lana, and her sister, who’s a ballerina. They were a precise loving family, and then, you know, she got into drugs and alcohol, I believe, and past I mislaid interaction with her."

Rosie went connected to assertion that Michelle's wellness continued to diminution successful the years earlier she died. "In the past fewer years, erstwhile she was successful beauteous atrocious shape, she would telephone maine and we would talk. I besides called her parent to find retired what was going on, and her parent told maine what was happening, and however agelong it had been happening," she said.

Rosie claimed that she'd repeatedly tried to enactment Michelle, but Michelle would continually miss plans they'd made together. "We were expected to spot each different 3 oregon 4 times, and she conscionable ne'er showed up," Rosie claimed. "Sometimes astatine restaurants, different times astatine my location wherever we’d had idiosyncratic hole the full meal. I would telephone her and go, 'Honey, are you heading over?' and she’d go, 'Was that today?' She was not successful bully shape."

"I didn’t deliberation that she would die," Rosie added. "With astir radical suffering from addiction, their loved ones deliberation that they’ll past it, but you tin dice from your addiction to drugs oregon alcohol, and it happens excessively often that it indispensable beryllium taken seriously."

Rosie's comments rapidly went viral online, with galore radical criticizing her for publically sharing those alleged details astir Michelle.

"Since erstwhile was her decease owed to addiction?" 1 idiosyncratic wrote connected X. "I thought she died due to the fact that of complications from an organ transplant?" different said. "Why is she referring to her arsenic an addict?"

"This is truthful messy of Rosie," idiosyncratic other declared. "Michelle's household didn't person an autopsy done truthful the details surrounding her decease would enactment private."

Others agreed that it was "absolutely not her place" to disclose that information.

"damn, mode to stroke up her spot Rosie," 1 idiosyncratic said, arsenic different called her comments "extremely distasteful + disrespectful."

"Even if she died from addiction and not from organ nonaccomplishment owed to her diabetes, miss work the country idk," 1 much X idiosyncratic shared.

People besides reacted connected Reddit, wherever the treatment was noticeably much mixed. While galore echoed the disapproval that Rosie shouldn't person shared that accusation publicly, others defended her and argued that talking openly astir addiction tin assistance trim stigma.

One idiosyncratic wrote, "Addiction is simply a horrible disease. I admit Rosie talking astir it some with honesty and empathy. Because addicts tin interruption your bosom to the precise core, but besides sometimes it’s not really them, it’s the monster of their addiction taking over, and it’s specified a pugnacious dichotomy to woody with."

Another called Rosie's comments "honest, empathetic, and intelligibly from a spot of love," adding, "As the kid of an addict I personally judge we each request to beryllium little acrophobic with protecting a person’s estimation and much acrophobic with acknowledging their whole, analyzable selves, particularly aft they person died."

People besides pointed to Rosie's ain household acquisition with addiction arsenic a crushed she whitethorn person spoken truthful candidly. Rosie's daughter, Chelsea, has notably struggled with cause addiction and is presently serving a situation condemnation aft violating her probation pursuing a drawstring of arrests.

"Rosie's going done it with her ain household now, I'd ideate thats wherefore she is speaking connected the situation," 1 Reddit idiosyncratic wrote. "Good connected her. The lone mode to navigate addiction is to admit it's existence."

So far, Rosie hasn't publically reacted to the backlash, but we'll update you if she does.

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is struggling with substance abuse, you tin telephone SAMHSA’s National Helpline astatine 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find much resources here.