Rosie O'Donnell says her father sexually abused her

Rosie O'Donnell. Photo / Getty Images

Rosie O'Donnell has claimed she was sexually abused by her father.

The 56-year-old actress alleges in an upcoming book 'Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of 'The View' - which was penned by Variety's New York bureau chief Ramin Setoodeh - that she was abused by her father Edward Joseph when she was a child, and says the harassment stopped when her mother Roseann passed away when Rosie was 10.

In an excerpt of the book published by Variety, Rosie told Ramin: "It started very young. 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."

The 'Rosie O'Donnell Show' star's father passed away in 2015.

And although Rosie hasn't spoken about the alleged abuse before, she has long been an advocate for sexual abuse victims, and was one of the first public figures to come out in support of Dylan Farrow, who claims her adopted father Woody Allen sexually assaulted her at the age of seven.

In the book, Rosie adds: "I'm very anti-Roman Polanski and anti-Woody Allen. It's a pretty clear line for me."

'Ladies Who Punch' will be published by St. Martin's Press on April 2.

-Bang! Showbiz