Michelle Trachtenberg fans praise Rosie O’Donnell for discussing her addiction struggles

The death of 39-year-old actor Michelle Trachtenberg in February 2025 came as a shock to many fans who loved her starring turns in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl,” especially because the cause of her death remained strangely shrouded in mystery.

The former child star’s family didn’t want an autopsy, and they were reluctant to release any information about what led to her being found “unconscious and unresponsive” in her New York City apartment on the morning of Feb. 25, 2025.

But now, in a new interview, Trachtenberg’s longtime friend and “Harriet the Spy” co-star Rosie O’Donnell has apparently confirmed what many long suspected about her widely rumored health issues in the year before her death.

Trachtenberg “got into drugs and alcohol” which left her in “pretty bad shape,” O’Donnell told Variety.

O’Donnell first befriended Trachtenberg when she was 11 and the former child TV star got her big Hollywood break, starring in her first movie. O’Donnell said Trachtenberg was “a real genius child” performer. When they reconnected in recent years, the 64-year-old former comedian and talk show host said, “She was not in good shape.”

O’Donnell continued: “I didn’t think that she would die. 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.”

With her comments about Trachtenberg’s apparent substance abuse problems, O’Donnell opened herself up to criticism that she was sharing information that the actor’s family seemed determined to keep private. Indeed, some people blasted O’Donnell for telling Trachtenberg’s “story,” which people said wasn’t hers to tell.

But for the most part, Trachtenberg fans have expressed support for O’Donnell finally talking about what to them was an open secret in Hollywood.

“I don’t think anything is gained by pretending an addict wasn’t an addict,” one person said on the r/popculturechat sub-Reddit, in a comment that has garnered more than 2,000 likes. “It’s a disease and an incredibly hard one to best. There shouldn’t be any more secrecy or shame in someone dying from addiction than there is from cancer or heart disease.”

In response, a second person said: “Everyone commenting ‘not her story to tell’ … congrats, you’re furthering the stigma around addiction. Rosie’s not telling Michelle’s story. She’s telling Rosie’s story of her relationship with Michelle. And Michelle was an addict.”

“If an addict is part of your life, their addiction affects you too,” this second person said. “Invalidating someone’s lived experience with an addict is just bullying them into silence. And addiction thrives in that silence.”

With Variety, O’Donnell talked about the “tragedy” of Trachtenberg’s death and how she tried to be there for her. After concerning phone calls with Trachtenberg, O’Donnell said she would reach out to her mother, who would tell her “what was happening, and how long it had been happening.”

O’Donnell said she invited Trachtenberg to her home or to meet at restaurants multiple times, but “she just never showed up. … — I would call her and go, ‘Honey, are you heading over? and she’d go, ‘Was that today?’”

“I wish I could have done more,” O’Donnell said, explaining a bit about how Trachtenberg’s addiction left her feeling helpless and sad. “I tried to help her as much as I could, but she was inaccessible toward the end, and it was tragic.”

“It’s horrible and addiction has hit my family, too,” O’Donnell continued. “I have a daughter who’s addicted. She’s been sober a year and a half and she’s currently in prison, sadly, but she was born addicted to drugs and never really had a fair shake. It’s very serious and there are millions of families in America going through the same thing.”

Immediately following Trachtenberg’s death, the New York City’s medical examiner said the cause was “undetermined” and that it had honored the family’s wish to not conduct an autopsy because there was no evidence of foul play. Several months later, the medical examiner updated its statement to say that laboratory tests showed that Trachtenberg died from complications of diabetes.

The statement said nothing else and did not address reports from multiple news agencies at the time of Trachtenberg’s death — including from ABC, TMZ, People and the New York Post — that said she had recently undergone a liver transplant and may have suffered from complications.

In the year before her death, Trachtenberg sparked online concern from fans who were worried about her health due to her appearing gaunt and frail in photos she shared on Instagram with her 800,000 followers. Fans noted what appeared to be a startling weight loss. They wondered if she’d had cosmetic surgery or was on drugs.

A source told People after Trachtenberg’s death: “She told friends she was struggling. She was really, really sick and open with those in her circle about how much she was struggling.”

The liver-transplant reports renewed speculation about addiction because the most common reason people suffer serious liver dysfunction and need a new liver is cirrhosis, according to the American Liver Foundation. And, the most common causes of cirrhosis are chronic hepatitis C, chronic alcoholism and long-term, heavy drinking.

“Everyone in Hollywood knew about her struggles, yet when she passed everyone acted surprised and no one said anything,” someone said in a comment on the r/Fauxmoi sub-Reddit that received more than 700 up-votes.

Another comment, which received more than 3,000 likes, seconded O’Donnell’s assertion that addiction “is a horrible disease,” with the person saying, “I appreciate Rosie talking about it both with honesty and empathy.”

“I agree, though I initially scoffed at her sharing something that wasn’t necessarily public,” another person said. “I do think the only way we can find a way out of this epidemic is through more authenticity.”

In her Variety interview, O’Donnell spoke about Trachtenberg’s close, “loving” family, but also compared her situation to Whitney Houston’s as she raised concerns about the motivations of people in a celebrity addict’s inner circle who may be reluctant to act.

“It reminded me of Whitney Houston where everyone knew what was going on, but no one was willing to say something, and often because the people that are closest to you are employed by you when you’re that big of an entity, and they don’t want to lose their job or their money,” O’Donnell said.

It’s possible that Trachtenberg’s family, like O’Donnell, were at a loss over how to help her. But Trachtenberg’s fans said they didn’t understand why her family wanted to keep her addiction “on the down low” after her death.

“Keep it on the down low for what though?” someone also said on the r/Fauxmoi sub-Reddit.

“I think that families being ’embarrassed’/ and protecting the family is part of the problem,” this person said. “If you have a loved one going through this and you’re busy protecting someone’s reputation instead of facing the reality of the problem head on, you’re part of the problem.”