Rosie O’Donnell Says Her Teenagers Are ‘Horrible,’ Comic Would Trade Her Teens For ‘Autistic Triplets’
Rosie O’Donnell has had enough of raising teenagers. During a stand-up comedy gig in New York over the weekend, the mom of five talked about raising her kids as a single parent, and it sounds like she is ready to throw in the towel.
According to People, Rosie O’Donnell said that her four older kids — Parker, Blake, Vivienne, and Chelsea, her 18-year-old daughter with whom she’s currently estranged — are a major handful. (O’Donnell also has a toddler daughter, Dakota, with ex-wife Michelle Rounds.) During her comedy set, Rosie revealed that she adopted her fifth child because she longed to have a little one in the house again amid all of those teens.
“My teenagers are a nightmare, they’re horrible. I had four teenagers when I decided to adopt a newborn baby. You might ask why. Because I had four teenagers and I needed to remind myself that I actually do love children.”
While some audience members could surely relate to Rosie’s rant, they may have not been prepared for her next joke.
“Because I would trade each teen for autistic triplets, I am just saying I would.”
While Rosie O’Donnell’s comment about autism was controversial, the former View co-host has gone on record as saying she tries as a parent and has done the best that she can. But despite that fact, the comedian says her kids blame her for everything. After her daughter Chelsea ran away last year and was found at the home of a 25-year-old male stranger she met online, O’Donnell admitted to a Twitter follower that she knows she’s not a perfect parent.
no mom is perfect – we all do our best @LisaMarasco –
— ROSIE (@Rosie) August 19, 2015
While it sounds like Rosie’s teen children give her the biggest headaches, things haven’t been smooth sailing with her 3-year-old, Dakota, either. Last year, TMZ reported that Rosie O’Donnell’s ex, Michelle Rounds, was battling her for full custody of the tot, but Rosie said her ex’s request for full custody was a blatant attempt to use the child for her own financial gain. Rosie and Rounds finally settled on joint custody of their daughter last October.
Still, Rounds has been vocal about her issues with Rosie’s parenting style, so you have to wonder if Rosie’s rant about her “horrible” teens will come back to haunt her. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Rounds said she doesn’t agree with her ex-wife’s laid-back rules and frequent use of nannies for Dakota, and she slammed O’Donnell’s casual parenting style and accused her of not disciplining her youngest child.
“I give [Dakota] mild discipline instead of like — carte blanche, do whatever you want — which is more or less how Rosie likes to do things.”
Rosie O’Donnell’s recent comments about her nightmarish teens probably won’t help repair her rocky relationship with Chelsea, either. But not that it matters. In a statement to Entertainment Tonight last year, Rosie’s oldest daughter hinted that their estrangement could be permanent.
“A part of my heart will always care for Rosie, but many things she has done to me over the past few months are unforgivable at the present. Some things just take time, if ever.”
According to Us Weekly, Rosie O’Donnell also talked about her teens in a stand-up show last fall, most notably Chelsea, who had just turned 18 at the time.
“For adopted children 18 is a magic number. At 18 they’re gonna rebel any way they can, any way they can get your attention. I keep thinking I see Chelsea. When your kid isn’t there you see them everywhere.”
Rosie O’Donnell often uses her real-life parenting experiences as material for her stand-up act, so her latest monologue isn’t all that surprising. During an HBO special last year, O’Donnell described her son Parker as “the spawn of Satan” once he hit the teen years, and that’s worse than being called horrible or a nightmare.
See Rosie O’Donnell’s daughter Chelsea talking about her relationship with her mom.
[Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Fund for Women’s Equality/ERA Coalition]
