Rosie O’Donnell’s daughter: I’m not mentally ill

Chelsea O’Donnell insists it was her mother Rosie’s decision for her to move out.

The 18-year-old has a turbulent relationship with her comedienne parent. It was claimed back in August (15) that Chelsea had left the house she shared with Rosie to move in with her birth mother Deanna.

However, in a new interview, Chelsea has revealed that Rosie kicked her out of the house on 11 August – two weeks before she turned 18.

"She told me to leave and take my dog," Chelsea told the Daily Mail Online. "Rosie knew I was planning to leave, that's why I think she kicked me out. She asked me to talk about what was going on and I didn't want to.

“So she asked for my phone and my computer. This was hours before she told me to leave. I gave them to her. A few hours later, she told me to leave. I wasn't planning to go until I turned 18 on the 24th."

Rosie posted a blog on 18 August in which she said that Chelsea was last seen on 11 August. The post has since been deleted.

The View host also reported Chelsea’s disappearance to authorities. However, she was found hours later at the New Jersey dwelling of a man named Steven Sheerer - an alleged heroin addict.

In a statement released via her publicist Cindi Berger at the time, Rosie said she was just concerned for her daughter’s safety, particularly because she suffers from mental illness.

However, Chelsea insists that while she has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past, she has never been mentally ill.
“Putting out there that I am mentally ill was really hurtful," she said. "People think I'm this crazy person and as I've said, I have depression and bad anxiety – but it's been something that's gotten a lot better.

“But these were personal things and I didn't want anyone to know them about me. … I wouldn't say I'm mentally ill – I would say lots of people struggle with what I have."