This post contains discussion of drug and alcohol use.
Rosie O'Donnell is facing criticism for her latest comments on Michelle Trachtenberg.
For context: The two became close after appearing together in 1996's Harriet the Spy, where Rosie portrayed Michelle's nanny. Tragically, Michelle was found dead in her Manhattan apartment in February 2025 at the age of 39, and Rosie was among those who paid tribute to her, calling the news "heartbreaking."
"I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped," she said at the time, without sharing further details.
In April 2025, Michelle's cause of death was confirmed as complications of diabetes. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office shared the news with NBC, with a source adding that Michelle had also recently undergone a liver transplant. The ruling came after the medical examiner had initially listed Michelle's cause of death as undetermined because her family requested that no autopsy be performed due to religious reasons. The request was granted because there was no suspicion of foul play. However, her cause of death was amended after laboratory test results were reviewed.
Now, in a new interview with Variety, Rosie reflected on Michelle's life and revealed details about their relationship in the years before her death.
"It was a tragedy," Rosie said. "She was a real genius child who was able to memorize anything, pick up her lines, you could improvise with her, and she was connected and right there. She was so close to her mother, Lana, and her sister, who’s a ballerina. They were a very loving family, and then, you know, she got into drugs and alcohol, I believe, and then I lost touch with her."
Rosie went on to claim that Michelle's health continued to decline in the years before she died. "In the last few years, when she was in pretty bad shape, she would call me and we would talk. I also called her mother to find out what was going on, and her mother told me what was happening, and how long it had been happening," she said.
Rosie claimed that she'd repeatedly tried to support Michelle, but Michelle would continually miss plans they'd made together. "We were supposed to see each other three or four times, and she just never showed up," Rosie claimed. "Sometimes at restaurants, other times at my house where we’d had someone prepare the whole meal. I would call her and go, 'Honey, are you heading over?' and she’d go, 'Was that today?' She was not in good shape."
"I didn’t think that she would die," Rosie added. "With most people suffering from addiction, their loved ones think that they’ll survive it, but you can die from your addiction to drugs or alcohol, and it happens too often that it must be taken seriously."
Rosie's comments quickly went viral online, with many people criticizing her for publicly sharing those alleged details about Michelle.
"This is so messy of Rosie," someone else declared. "Michelle's family didn't have an autopsy done so the details surrounding her death would stay private."
Others agreed that it was "absolutely not her place" to disclose that information.
"damn, way to blow up her spot Rosie," one person said, as another called her comments "extremely distasteful + disrespectful."
"even if she died from addiction and not from organ failure due to her diabetes, girl read the room idk," one more X user shared.
People also reacted on Reddit, where the discussion was noticeably more mixed. While many echoed the criticism that Rosie shouldn't have shared that information publicly, others defended her and argued that talking openly about addiction can help reduce stigma.
One person wrote, "Addiction is a horrible disease. I appreciate Rosie talking about it both with honesty and empathy. Because addicts can break your heart to the very core, but also sometimes it’s not actually them, it’s the monster of their addiction taking over, and it’s such a tough dichotomy to deal with."
Another called Rosie's comments "honest, empathetic, and clearly from a place of love," adding, "As the child of an addict I personally believe we all need to be less concerned with protecting a person’s reputation and more concerned with acknowledging their whole, complex selves, especially after they have died."
People also pointed to Rosie's own family experience with addiction as a reason she may have spoken so candidly. Rosie's daughter, Chelsea, has notably struggled with drug addiction and is currently serving a prison sentence after violating her probation following a string of arrests.
"Rosie's going through it with her own family now, I'd imagine thats why she is speaking on the situation," one Reddit user wrote. "Good on her. The only way to navigate addiction is to acknowledge it's existence."
So far, Rosie hasn't publicly reacted to the backlash, but we'll update you if she does.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.
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