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Rosie O’Donnell Apologizes To Melania Trump For Suggesting That Her Son, Barron, Might Be Autistic

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 05:06 PST, Dec 1, 2016

Rosie O’Donnell is apologizing to Melania Trump for suggesting that her 10-year-old son, Barron, might be autistic. News of this comes a day after a YouTuber removed footage of Barron supposedly mimicking signs associated with autism. Rosie viewed the content and retweeted it, asking followers if they wondered themselves if Barron Trump might be autistic. Melania’s high-powered attorney, Charles Harder, sent a letter threatening to sue the YouTuber if he didn’t delete the video and apologize.

TMZ reports that Rosie O’Donnell apologized on Thursday, writing, “I apologize to @MELANIATRUMP – i was insensitive in my RT – i am sorry for the pain i caused – it was not my intent – i am truly sorry.”

Melania wasn’t going after Rosie in the letter, but her attorney made it clear that the former View co-host made matters worse by giving the video merit. Many of her followers were angry that she’d go so far as to speculate that Donald and Melania Trump’s son might have autism.

Harder and another source told TMZ that Barron Trump is definitely not autistic. Barron was very tired the night he was seen at the Republican National Convention in July and the during Trump’s presidential acceptance speech. The YouTuber highlighted that Barron’s hands weren’t touching one another while he clapped. Harder noted that Barron usually claps normally, but he was exhausted that evening at the convention.

The YouTube poster also had scenes of Barron Trump sitting restlessly in his seat, walking wearily, and standing on stage with his father. All of the scenes were recorded at ridiculous hours when most people are sleeping. Rosie O’Donnell joined the many people who attempt to diagnose Barron Trump as autistic based on the few number times he’s been seen in public. Donald and Melania Trump have never said Barron is autistic.

Rosie O’Donnell apologized to Melania Trump for assuming her son might be autistic, but many feel her mea culpa comes a bit late considering the commotion she stirred up. By the fact O’Donnell and the President-elect are longtime adversaries, it was suspected that she addressed the autism rumors regarding Barron as a means of getting another dig at her nemesis. In a letter Rosie posted on her website, she explained that she’s been educating herself on the diagnosis of autism because her 3-year-old daughter, Dakota, was diagnosed with it in September. In several other tweets last week, Rosie went on to say that she thinks Barron is an “angel” and that she has nothing against any of the Trump children.

The maker of the YouTube video made his apology on Wednesday, deleting the defamatory content of “Barron Trump Autistic? #StopTheBullying,” and posting a public apology to the Trumps.

“It was incredibly irresponsible of me to diagnose Barron Trump using a selection of misleading videos. I falsely correlated him trying to stay awake and occasionally doing quirky things, with him suffering from autism,” the apology read in part.

The YouTuber continued that he in no way meant to hurt Melania or Barron Trump.

Rosie O’Donnell’s Twitter account is now set to private. It’s unclear if the fallout from tweets about Barron have anything to do with why it’s suddenly unavailable to the general public, but the timing is suspect.

In the end, Melania got what she wanted by having the YouTuber delete the video grant an apology.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]

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