Rosie O’Donnell’s Heartbreaking Response to Daughter Charged With Felonies

Rosie O’Donnell has broken her silence (via People) following her daughter being charged with felony child neglect and drug possession.

Chelsea Belle O’Donnell, 27, was arrested on Sept. 10 in Marinette County, Wisconsin. Chelsea is the 61-year-old comedian’s eldest daughter and a mother to four children of her own. At the time, the younger O’Donnell was charged with neglecting a child, possession of methamphetamine, and maintaining a place of drug trafficking, all of which are felony counts. She was also charged with four misdemeanors—possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, prescription drugs for which she did not have a prescription, and disorderly conduct.

Though Chelsea was initially released on a $2,000 bond, she was re-arrested on Oct. 11 on felony counts of possession of methamphetamine and narcotic drugs, and bail jumping, along with misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was booked into Oconto County Jail, where she remains.

On Saturday, Rosie posted a statement along with a photo of Chelsea with one of her children. “Chelsea is in the news today—this is a photo from a better time," the comedian captioned the post. "Sadly, this is not new for our family," Rosie continued. "Chelsea has struggled with drug addiction for a decade—we are all hopeful she will find her way out of this deadly disease."

Chelsea was the first of four children adopted by Rosie and her ex-wife, Kelly Carpenter. Rosie and Chelsea were occasionally estranged, and in 2015 the A League of Their Own actor reported her daughter missing after she disappeared from their upstate New York home. After Chelsea was located, she went to live with Carpenter in Wisconsin.

Chelsea is due in court on Nov. 4 and Nov. 7.