Rosie O’Donnell reveals her father sexually abused her: ‘It started very young’

Rosie O'Donnell revealed she was sexually abused by her father at a young age.  (Getty Images)

Rosie O’Donnell revealed she was sexually abused by her father at a young age.

O’Donnell's revelation was made Wednesday ahead of the release of her upcoming book, “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View.’” Excerpts of the book, which was written by Variety's Ramin Setoodeh, were published on the magazine's website.

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The former talk show host said her father, Edward Joseph, began sexually abusing her at a young age. Her mother died when she was 10.

“It started very young,” O’Donnell said. “And then when my mother died, it sort of ended in a weird way, because then he was with these five children to take care of. On the whole, it’s not something I like to talk about. Of course, it changes everyone. Any child who is put in that position, especially by someone in the family, you feel completely powerless and stuck, because the person you would tell is the person doing it.”

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Her father died in 2015.

O’Donnell has been a longtime advocate for those with mental illness and victims of sexual abuse. She was one of the first public figures to stand with Dylan Farrow after she alleged her father, Woody Allen, sexually abused her at a young age.