Rosie O’Donnell Gets Tattoo to Honor Non-Binary Child’s Pronouns

Rosie O’Donnell has recently revealed a new tattoo that serves as a reminder of her non-binary child’s pronouns, specifically ‘they/them.’ The reason behind this? O’Donnell has found herself mistakenly referring to her child as “she” during conversations about their awakening.

During an episode of Amy Poehler’s podcast “Good Hang,” O’Donnell, 64, shared that she got the word “they” inked on her left wrist. This gesture comes as she struggles to remember the correct pronouns for her 13-year-old child, Clay, who came out as non-binary in 2024.

“It’s quite challenging, you know? These gender-neutral pronouns really matter to them, and I get that. When they first told me about their identity, I wanted to do my best, but I still kept saying ‘she,’” O’Donnell reflected, opening up about her difficulties with the pronoun learning curve.

She noted that Clay, who was previously known as Dakota, would often hold up a sign with “they” written on it whenever O’Donnell accidentally used “she.”

Currently in what she calls “self-imposed political exile” in Ireland after the 2024 presidential election, O’Donnell even brought cue cards with her to a tattoo shop, where she got the pronouns tattooed in a style resembling Clay’s handwriting.

Interestingly, O’Donnell had hoped this tattoo would mean a lot to Clay, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. “I thought they’d be so moved by it… But, to be honest, they didn’t seem to care,” she recounted, still grappling with using the correct pronouns despite her new ink.

She humorously acknowledged the ongoing struggle: “I just keep saying ‘she’ when I’m trying to talk about ‘them’! It’s tough!”

In a past interview with NBC, O’Donnell shared that Clay, at age 10, had explained the distinction between sex and gender. “Mom, gender isn’t just about physical traits. It’s more complex,” Clay had told her, making the point that gender is limitless.

Clay, who identifies as non-binary and previously went by Dakota, now resides in Ireland with O’Donnell. The comedian adopted Clay during her marriage to her late second ex-wife, Michelle Lowndes, who sadly passed away in 2017. After Trump’s election victory, O’Donnell moved to Ireland with Clay in January 2025.

O’Donnell is also the mother of four other adopted children: Parker, 31, Chelsea, 28, Blake, 26, and Vivienne, 23, from her first marriage to Kelly Carpenter, which ended in 2007.