{"id":4748,"date":"2026-07-17T17:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4748"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:41:15","slug":"michelle-trachtenberg-fans-praise-rosie-odonnell-for-discussing-her-addiction-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4748","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Trachtenberg fans praise Rosie O’Donnell for discussing her addiction struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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 \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d and \u201cGossip Girl,\u201d especially because the cause of her death remained strangely shrouded in mystery.<\/p>\n

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The former child star\u2019s family didn\u2019t want an autopsy, and they were reluctant to release any information about what led to her being found \u201cunconscious and unresponsive\u201d in her New York City apartment on the morning of Feb. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n

But now, in a new interview, Trachtenberg\u2019s longtime friend and \u201cHarriet the Spy\u201d co-star Rosie O\u2019Donnell has apparently confirmed what many long suspected about her widely rumored health issues in the year before her death.<\/p>\n

Trachtenberg \u201cgot into drugs and alcohol\u201d which left her in \u201cpretty bad shape,\u201d O\u2019Donnell told Variety.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell first befriended Trachtenberg when she was 11 and the former child TV star got her big Hollywood break, starring in her first movie. O\u2019Donnell said Trachtenberg was \u201ca real genius child\u201d performer. When they reconnected in recent years, the 64-year-old former comedian and talk show host said, \u201cShe was not in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell continued: \u201cI didn\u2019t think that she would die. With most people suffering from addiction, their loved ones think that they\u2019ll survive it, but you can die from your addiction to drugs or alcohol, and it happens too often that it must be taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

With her comments about Trachtenberg\u2019s apparent substance abuse problems, O\u2019Donnell opened herself up to criticism that she was sharing information that the actor\u2019s family seemed determined to keep private. Indeed, some people blasted O\u2019Donnell for telling Trachtenberg\u2019s \u201cstory,\u201d which people said wasn\u2019t hers to tell.<\/p>\n

But for the most part, Trachtenberg fans have expressed support for O\u2019Donnell finally talking about what to them was an open secret in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything is gained by pretending an addict wasn\u2019t an addict,\u201d one person said on the r\/popculturechat sub-Reddit, in a comment that has garnered more than 2,000 likes. \u201cIt\u2019s a disease and an incredibly hard one to best. There shouldn\u2019t be any more secrecy or shame in someone dying from addiction than there is from cancer or heart disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, a second person said: \u201cEveryone commenting \u2018not her story to tell\u2019 \u2026 congrats, you\u2019re furthering the stigma around addiction. Rosie\u2019s not telling Michelle\u2019s story. She\u2019s telling Rosie\u2019s story of her relationship with Michelle. And Michelle was an addict.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf an addict is part of your life, their addiction affects you too,\u201d this second person said. \u201cInvalidating someone\u2019s lived experience with an addict is just bullying them into silence. And addiction thrives in that silence.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Variety, O\u2019Donnell talked about the \u201ctragedy\u201d of Trachtenberg\u2019s death and how she tried to be there for her. After concerning phone calls with Trachtenberg, O\u2019Donnell said she would reach out to her mother, who would tell her \u201cwhat was happening, and how long it had been happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

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O\u2019Donnell said she invited Trachtenberg to her home or to meet at restaurants multiple times, but \u201cshe just never showed up. \u2026\u00a0 \u2014 I would call her and go, \u2018Honey, are you heading over? and she\u2019d go, \u2018Was that today?’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I could have done more,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said, explaining a bit about how Trachtenberg\u2019s addiction left her feeling helpless and sad. \u201cI tried to help her as much as I could, but she was inaccessible toward the end, and it was tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s horrible and addiction has hit my family, too,\u201d O\u2019Donnell continued. \u201cI have a daughter who\u2019s addicted. She\u2019s been sober a year and a half and she\u2019s currently in prison, sadly, but she was born addicted to drugs and never really had a fair shake. It\u2019s very serious and there are millions of families in America going through the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Immediately following Trachtenberg\u2019s death, the New York City\u2019s medical examiner said the cause was \u201cundetermined\u201d and that it had honored the family\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The statement said nothing else and did not address reports from multiple news agencies at the time of Trachtenberg\u2019s death \u2014 including from ABC, TMZ, People and the New York Post \u2014 that said she had recently undergone a liver transplant and may have suffered from complications.<\/p>\n

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\u2019d had cosmetic surgery or was on drugs.<\/p>\n

A source told People after Trachtenberg\u2019s death: \u201cShe told friends she was struggling. She was really, really sick and open with those in her circle about how much she was struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in Hollywood knew about her struggles, yet when she passed everyone acted surprised and no one said anything,\u201d someone said in a comment on the r\/Fauxmoi sub-Reddit that received\u00a0 more than 700 up-votes.<\/p>\n

Another comment, which received more than 3,000 likes, seconded O\u2019Donnell\u2019s assertion that addiction \u201cis a horrible disease,\u201d with the person saying, \u201cI appreciate Rosie talking about it both with honesty and empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree, though I initially scoffed at her sharing something that wasn\u2019t necessarily public,\u201d another person said. \u201cI do think the only way we can find a way out of this epidemic is through more authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her Variety interview, O\u2019Donnell spoke about Trachtenberg\u2019s close, \u201cloving\u201d family, but also compared her situation to Whitney Houston\u2019s as she raised concerns about the motivations of people in a celebrity addict\u2019s inner circle who may be reluctant to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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\u2019re that big of an entity, and they don\u2019t want to lose their job or their money,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that Trachtenberg\u2019s family, like O\u2019Donnell, were at a loss over how to help her. But\u00a0 Trachtenberg\u2019s fans said they didn\u2019t understand why her family wanted to keep her addiction \u201con the down low\u201d after her death.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep it on the down low for what though?\u201d someone also said on the r\/Fauxmoi sub-Reddit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that families being \u2019embarrassed\u2019\/ and protecting the family is part of the problem,\u201d this person said. \u201cIf you have a loved one going through this and you\u2019re busy protecting someone\u2019s reputation instead of facing the reality of the problem head on, you\u2019re part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

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O’Donnell, Trachtenberg’s friend, opened herself up to criticism for telling the late actor’s ‘story,’ after her family seemed determined to keep her struggles ‘on the down low’ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nMichelle Trachtenberg fans praise Rosie O’Donnell for discussing her addiction struggles - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4748\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michelle Trachtenberg fans praise Rosie O’Donnell for discussing her addiction struggles - 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