Rosie O’Donnell is asking for prayers for her 28-year-old daughter, Chelsea, who has had multiple felony charges in the past few years and was recently sentenced to time in prison.
On Oct. 29, the comedian and former talk show host uploaded a childhood photo of Chelsea to Instagram and asked for prayers in the caption. “My child chelsea belle — before addiction took over her life,” O’Donnell wrote. “Loved her then i love her now as she faces a scary future- prayers welcomed.”
She added the hashtags “addiction” “love” and “family,” and also said the post was meant to bring awareness.
Celebrity friends, like Ricki Lake, Gloria Estefan, Jenifer Lewis and Cheyenne Jackson, offered support in the comments.
Chelsea had her probation revoked and was sentenced to prison on Oct. 22, documents from the Marinette County Wisconsin Circuit Court obtained by TODAY.com show, following three arrests last year.
Speaking about her daughter’s struggles, O’Donnell told People in a statement, “I have compassion for those struggling with addiction — Chelsea was born into addiction and it has been a painful journey for her and her four young children. We continue to love and support her through these horrible times. Prayers welcomed.”
O’Donnell, the mother of four children, adopted Chelsea in 1997. Nearly 10 years ago, O’Donnell used social media for help when Chelsea, then 17, went missing for a week in August 2015. She updated fans of Chelsea’s safe return on X, writing at the time, “Chelsea has been found and is safe in police custody — thank u all for the help and light.” A New Jersey man was arrested for housing Chelsea and was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and distribution of obscenity to a minor.
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In recent years, Chelsea has frequently appeared in headlines due to her run-ins with the law. According to records from Marinette County Wisconsin, Chelsea has been arrested three times for charges involving felony child neglect and drug possession.
She was arrested in November 2024 for two felony counts of possession of methamphetamine, a felony count of possession of narcotic drugs and two felony counts of bail jumping. Chelsea pled guilty in January and was sentenced to six years probation, per court records.
O’Donnell addressed her daughter’s struggles in a message shared on Substack. “She is doing so well now in spite of the tabloid fodder,” she wrote at the time about Chelsea, in part, “She’s working on herself aren’t we all.”
“And she has the right to do it without strangers (sic) judgement,” she continued. “I wish i could delete my fame for her.”
O’Donnell said she was proud of her daughter. She concluded, “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.”
The end of the post also included a photo of Chelsea seemingly in a courtroom addressing a judge.
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