Arts & Entertainment

Rosie O’Donnell speculated Barron Trump had autism because of daughter

the star wrote a poem explaining the tweet

Published

10 years ago

November 29, 2016

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot via YouTube)

Rosie O’Donnell came under fire last week after tweeting a video that speculated Donald Trump’s 10-year-old son Barron is autistic. O’Donnell is now explaining that the tweet came from a good place because her own daughter is autistic.

“Barron Trump Autistic?” O’Donnell, 54, tweeted along with a video that analyzes Barron’s behavior for autism. “If so — what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.”

In a poem posted on her blog, O’Donnell revealed that her daughter Dakota has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. She says her daughter’s diagnosis led to her interest in the topic and is why she tweeted about Barron.

“I have been immersed in that world/reality since learning – reading – asking questions it’s all autism – all the time for the newly diagnosed,” O’Donnell writes. “As we try to grab onto anything to keep us standing the knowledge we r not alone there r others living this too.”

“When I saw the anti-bullying video that mentioned Barron it spoke to the symptoms many ASD kids have it was educational and informational these symptoms so many do not understand – I thought – how amazing IF IF it is true,” O’Donnell continued. “If it is true – I tweeted from my heart it would help so much with the autism epidemic.”

Even though O’Donnell and Trump have been battling each other for the past decade, O’Donnell insists her tweet about Barron wasn’t meant to be an attack on the president-elect.

“This autism subject had nothing to do with Donald though I admit he does trigger me in all ways. I have no ill will for his children – or any children – and if you knew anything about me you would know that,” O’Donnell writes.

According to TMZ, Melania Trump has hired lawyer Charles J. Harder to go after the person who posted the original YouTube video. In a letter obtained by TMZ, O’Donnell’s tweet is referred to as “bullying.”

“The video allegedly seeks to ‘stop the bullying’ of Barron Trump. Not true … The video did instigate further bullying by Rosie O’Donnell and others,” the letter reads.

The soon-to-be first lady does not have intentions to sue O’Donnell but is serious about getting the owner of the video to take it down.

Related Topics:Barron Trump Donald Trump Rosie O'Donnell

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

10 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.