Rosie O’Donnell is addressing her eldest adopted daughter Chelsea's decision to file for a last name change.
The actress, 63, posted a 30-stanza Substack poem on Sunday in a response to Chelsea's January filing for name change after Rosie cut her from her $80 million will.
“she wishes to change her last name / to her birth moms maiden name / doesn’t make sense to me / I am not her,” she wrote in the free-verse poem, titled “my child chelsea.”
The comedian also shed light on the difficulty of navigating Chelsea’s struggles, but highlighted that her daughter is “doing so well now.”
“rain or shine / same name or not / that’s my girl / fierce and determined,” she concluded.
Chelsea, who was adopted as a baby in 1997, filed for her last name to be changed to her birth mother Deanna Micoley’s maiden name, Neuens, after being estranged from her adoptive mother for most of her early adult years.
Things escalated with Rosie in 2015 after Chelsea went missing from their New York home. She was found one week later and moved to Wisconsin to live with Micoley soon after.
“Chelsea made a decision when she turned 18 that she wanted to go to her birth mother. This was her choice,” the Emmy winner said in a statement at the time.
Rosie and Chelsea briefly reconnected when the latter was pregnant with her first child in 2018, but Chelsea’s struggle with addiction—which led to multiple arrests in 2024—drew a wedge again between them.
Reports that Chelsea, a mother of four, was sentenced to six years of probation last month and is currently in a sober living facility in Marinette, Wis.
She could face prison time if she fails to comply with guidelines such as not having possession of alcohol or drugs without a valid prescription, contact with drug users or sellers, and possession or ownership of firearms.
She is also required to obtain a high school diploma or GED and complete a full mental health evaluation besides maintaining absolute sobriety.
Rosie adopted her first child, son Parker, in 1995, followed by son Blake in 1999, daughter Vivienne in 2002, and child Clay in 2013.