Rosie O'Donnell shares lengthy poem in response to daughter dropping her last name: 'It's not about me'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rosie O’Donnell uploaded a poem on her Substack in the aftermath of her adopted daughter Chelsea recently dropping her last name in favor of her birth mother’s maiden name, the Daily Beast reported on Wednesday, April 9.
According to the publication, the decision was made by Chelsea, 27, after Rosie, 63, reportedly cut her off from her $80 million estate days before leaving the United States for Ireland, following the victory of Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Rosie O’Donnell's poem on Chelsea
Rosie O’Donnell uploaded the poem titled "My Child Chelsea" on Substack on Sunday, April 6, which runs for 20 stanzas. It begins with, “She wants her privacy/ i am her mom/ the story is out there/ people judge and ask.../ why didn’t u try more .../u should have done something else .../I would never have .../if she were mine .../.”
Speaking of Chelsea's guardians, the poem went, "Every adoption story is complicated/ nuance and subtext/ a primal wound/ sometimes doesn’t heal/."
"She wants a private life/ she deserves one too/ her journey/ made public by a series of bad decisions/ on everyones part/ when she was a young teen," it continued, expressing O'Donnell's empathy for her daughter.
About her name change, Rosie wrote that it “doesn’t make sense to me” but added, “it's not about me/ i am here for her/ she’s not here for me.”
The star recalled the time she spent with her daughter before stating, "Im proud of her / living her truth / i respect her desires / her struggles her success... / her right to define herself / her world / her family / her life... / we raise them / we do r best / we all fail / in so many ways... / but rain or shine / same name or not / that's my girl / fierce and determined..."
She noted in the end that the poem was published with her daughter's approval.
Rosie O'Donnell's relationship with her adopted daughter Chelsea
The duo has an on-again-off-again relationship, which began when Chelsea ran away from her home as a teen. They reconnected in 2018 after Chelsea gave birth to her first daughter, but broke apart when she was arrested thrice in 2024 on felony child neglect and drug possession charges.
Back in 2017, Rosie claimed that her daughter is “mentally ill," stating that she “has been in and out of hospitals most of her life. She is very sick... She is not capable of truth or reason.”
The comedian and former co-host of 'The View' has five adopted children. She has cut off Chelsea from two separate trusts, one of which included her $27 million life insurance policy.
The exact reason for the action remains unknown. However, it followed Chelsea being sentenced to six years of probation over consecutive drug arrests.
