Rosie O'Donnell to discuss gay parenting on 'The Ricki Lake Show'

Wednesday February 20, 2013 4:39 PM By Kirthana Ramisetti

Photo credit: Getty Images | Rosie O'Donnell attends the after-party for the Off-Broadway opening night of "Love, Loss and What I Wore" at Bryant Park Grill. (Oct. 1, 2009)

“The Ricki Lake Show,” hosted by former Hastings resident Ricki Lake, is set to welcome a guest who also has strong Hudson Valley ties: Rosie O’Donnell. The Nyack resident will appear on Lake’s talk show Thursday for an episode about gay parenting.

According to the show’s website, the mother of five will be on hand as a gay parenting advocate and will discuss the joys and unique challenges that come with being a gay parent.

O’Donnell also will talk about her daughter Dakota, the baby girl she and her wife, Michelle Rounds, adopted last month. The 50-year-old comedian is the mother of four other children: Parker, 17, whom she adopted in 1995; Chelsea Belle, 15, adopted in 1997; Blake Christopher, 13, adopted with then-partner Kelli Carpenter in 1999; and Vivienne Rose, 10, born to Carpenter through artificial insemination.

Also appearing on the show will be “Scandal” star Dan Bucatinsky, a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie. The actor will talk about his new book, "Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight?" Bucatinsky is married to filmmaker Don Roos and is the father of two young children, Eliza and Jonah.

Lake’s talk show launched last fall to low ratings and was not renewed for a second season. 

With Frank Lovece

Tags: Hastings , Nyack , Poughkeepsie , Rosie O'Donnell , Ricki Lake , Dan Bucatinsky , TV