Pitiful Ryan O’Neal on The Today Show: I suppose I was a bad parent

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It’s been almost three years since Farrah Fawcett died, but that time frame seems off to me somehow, like she passed either just a year ago or over five years ago. I’m not sure how to explain it. Well since Farrah has passed her family has been truly struggling, especially her son, Redmond, who has been in and out of jail and rehab. Redmond’s dad Ryan was a piss poor parent to to say the least. Ryan and Redmond, now 27, were arrested for drug possession, including meth, in 2008 before Farrah passed. Redmond had to get a pass from jail to attend his mother’s funeral, and he went in shackles and a jumpsuit. Ryan also had a domestic abuse incident in 2007 against his older son, Redmond’s half brother Griffin. Griffin later claimed that Ryan first introduced him to cocaine when he was just 11 years old, and that Ryan regularly did drugs with Redmond. He also said that Ryan often cheated on Farrah and that he was so sweet to her later in life because he was hoping to be put in her will. (He wasn’t, Farrah’s estate went to charity and to Redmond.)

Ryan has a new memoir out chronicling his life with Farrah. He’s also suffering from prostate cancer, he was just diagnosed, and leukemia, which he’s had for years. Ryan was on The Today Show this morning, having canceled yesterday’s interview after a panic attack. He said it was his first panic attack. During the interview he seemed very pitiful and kind of lost. You could tell he was having trouble explaining himself and that he was unprepared to answer questions about the book. He hedged and changed the subject quite a few times. Here’s more on what he said about his kids, thanks to Radar:

In a sad segment on Tuesday’s Today Show, one-time Hollywood hunk Ryan O’Neal came off as a broken man, admitting his failure as a parents and his profound loneliness without longtime love Farrah Fawcett, as he himself now battles cancer.

Ryan — who abruptly left the show’s New York set for a scheduled chat Monday — said he’d “just broke out into a terrible sweat.

“You wouldn’t have wanted me,” Ryan said, looking tired with a bandage on his nose after a recent procedure.

Asked if he’d indeed had a panic attack, O’Neal said he assumed he did, though he “never had one before.”

The subject of his kids came up and it made for extremely uncomfortable TV: The father-of-four — Patrick, Tatum, Griffin and Redmond — was honest in assessing his accountability in the the addiction issues of the latter three, and past jail histories of the latter two.

“Were you a bad parent?” Lauer asked the Love Story star, who said contritely, “Looks like it, doesn’t it? Sure looks like it … I suppose I was.”

Ryan said he “wasn’t trained” to be a father, and can’t continue to be held accountable with his children all adults.

“Griffin is 45, Tatum is 49, who’s the other one? Redmond is 27. They have to take hold of their own existences.”

He joked, “Even with those kids … I never suffered a panic attack.”

[From Radar]

Radar didn’t recap the things that Ryan said about Farrah. That was truly hard to watch. Lauer questioned Ryan about allegations he made about Farrah in the book, that she was obsessed with her appearance as she got older, and that she suffered from mood swings. He hedged and skirted around the questions, and I found it particularly sad the way he addressed the question about her moods. That’s at about 4:20 in the video above:

On if Farrah sought treatment for mood swings
No. I felt that she was uncomfortable with me and that maybe I had grown boring to her. It was tough.

See, he didn’t really answer the question at all and turned it around to where he was some kind of victim. At about 5:10 Ryan looked confused and said that “she loved me, she said so. She said so. I couldn’t write a book if she hadn’t.” It seemed kind of heartbreaking. He just looked down the whole time and barely looked at Matt Lauer in the eye.

I got the impression that O’Neal used a ghostwriter for the most of the book and didn’t realize everything that was in it. He came across as ashamed about his life and not sure how to explain things. I also got the impression that he felt sorry for himself, and that his grief over Farrah was something of a put on. I’m not saying he didn’t love her deeply, just that it seemed like he was trying to get us to feel for him. Maybe he’s just very sick and confused, though.

Photos are from yesterday in NY. Credit: Diane Cohen/FameFlynet Pictures

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89 Responses to “Pitiful Ryan O’Neal on The Today Show: I suppose I was a bad parent”

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  1. bluhare says:

    Wow, is panic attack the new name for hissy fit? He read what his kids said about him, that’s why he walked out yesterday.

    • smith says:

      I know – I got halfway through Tatum’s book “A Paper Life” and couldn’t read anymore it was just so awful and depressing. Granted it was HER recount but so much gelled with other’s stories that even if partly true it was too much to bear.

      He basically left his kids to fend for themselves with a crazy mother and a childhood full of poverty and abuse while he lived a high-flying Hollywood life. Once Tatum became famous he was wrought with jealousy, used her (she was still a child) to gain more fame, physically and psychologically abused her and Griffin and introduced them to drugs and an overly-sexed lifestyle without any parental control or advice. I mean not an ounce.

      I don’t care if he’s old/sick, he’s pathetic and despicable.

      I am a hardened shell to his pathos.

      • Carolyn says:

        He’s an appalling man, both as a husband and father. The photos of him and Farrah when young are gorgeous and somehow make it all the more shocking. To think he tried to hit on Tatum at Farrah’s funeral…he didn’t recognise her. The rumours about him taking Drew Barrymore and Tatum to a drug/orgy party when both were young..the physical/mental abuse of all the children (as others have all said) is completely beyond my comprehension. That he’s playing victim is appalling.I wouldn’t watch, listen or buy anything he puts out on principle. I hope one of the interviewers has the balls to ask him the hard questions. He shouldn’t get a “pass” on this.

      • Kathryn says:

        I agree with everything you said. O’Neal is a despicable person. Oprah Winfrey should be ashamed of herself for giving this self-pitying, egotistical monster a show on her crummy network with that poor Tatum. His illness is his karma.

      • bluhare says:

        Makes you wonder why Farrah stayed.

        But did you see that he said he was holding Redmond’s stash when he was busted for possesion, that he had taken it from Redmond’s room and was going to confront him with it the next day, and then their house was busted and it was found in his shoe? His shoe???? Yeah, Ryan, I believe ya. “wink”

      • Sapphire says:

        He is a monster for all the reasons described above. And Farrah was well known for her taste in abusive men.

  2. Nev says:

    don’t cheat.

  3. gg says:

    I suppose you were, Ryan. And you have not done anything to make it better either, like stop being a stubborn, rageaholic ass.

  4. apsutter says:

    One of the biggest pieces of s*** there is. The fact that he has been able to get away with the horrible things that he’s done and still has a career in Hollyweird is beyond me.

    • Jill says:

      Yes, he is a disgusting excuse for a human being. And I have absolutely no doubt that he has done much worse things than are publicly known. If you told me he had sex with his children, I would not bat an eye. That is how deplorable I believe he is.

    • Esmom says:

      You took the words right out of my mouth. I can’t think of anyone more despicable, really. Why is anyone giving him the time of day?

    • Loren says:

      Didn’t a teen Drew Barrymore abort his baby?

      • Happymom says:

        What?? I never heard this before!! Awful!

      • Roma says:

        That was the outcome of a BI at CDAN but it’s not “fact”. But there was a lot of strong evidence to suspect it was true.

      • pwal says:

        Hold on… are you sure that it was Drew Barrymore, because if you meant Melanie Griffith, then I would believe it.

        But the thought of something going down between Ryan and Drew, and they played father and daughter in Irreconcilable Differences, when Drew was around 11 or 12 years old… I’m officially fcuked!

      • Loren says:

        Yes if you believe CDAN..here is the blind:
        http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2012/03/todays-blind-items-pregnancies.html

        @pwal..Melanie is also supposedly in the blind as the battered girlfriend who also lost his baby.

        P.s..I have no idea if blinds are true or not. I just enjoy reading them.

      • Vesper says:

        This blind doesn’t fit when u include the sentence:

        “Back at the height of his fame which was not that long ago…”

  5. brin says:

    Ya think?!

  6. JudyK says:

    How funny…I just sent an email to NBC about this pathetic appearance.

    Dissheveled Ryan sat there, never once looking Matt Lauer in the eye, with faux humility which translated into self-indulgent, self-serving self pity.

    Hey, Ryan, did you even write the book? You not only couldn’t remember what you said in the book, you couldn’t even remember the names of all of your children. Kind of like not recognizing your own daughter at Farrah’s funeral and coming onto her, huh?

    Sorry you are sick, but you are a lying douchebag.

  7. Relli says:

    WORST.PERSON.EVER.

    Back when my husband and i had super cable i caught a marathon of Househusbands of Hollywood, which was beyond hilarious for many reason. But Ryan was on there as a friend of some guy named Charlie of all things GIVING PARENTING ADVICE. This was in 2009 when all the stuff about him doing drugs with his kids had come out, hitting on his daughter accidentally and of course being and all around jerk. AND the last scene Charlie asked him to be his son’s godfather….. WTF. That’s like asking the big bad wold to watch over your bacon factory while your out.

    He totally ruined love story for me. jerk.

  8. Elizabeth says:

    The only child of his who seems relatively unscathed by Ryan’s pitiful parenting is Patrick. I believe Patrick’s mother kept him far away from the trainwreck that was his father’s life. Good for her.

  9. Maguita says:

    The saddest most pitiful thing about abusers and cheaters?

    Life gets back at you when you least can afford it.

    Sorry to sound un-gracious, but Ryan O’Neil has reputedsex with very young underage girls for decades. He had introduced all his children to hard drugs when they were underage. He had participated in very shameful and despicable acts, that used quite acceptable by Hollywood standards in regards to celebrities (mostly men), but would have earned you a public lynching, that is, if you were part of the general public.

    That is truly the saddest thing: how can you punish an old man, an old decaying man, for his past transgressions.

  10. TQB says:

    “Griffin is 45, Tatum is 49, who’s the other one? Redmond is 27″

    I’m sorry, did he just FORGET one of his kids?? Being that bad a parent takes real effort. Dick.

  11. Jayna says:

    Here is my take. And I watched the OWN show with his daughter.

    Ryan was a beyond shitty, selfish father, abusive at times. A lot of people are shitty parents. But Tatum and her older brother have played the victim card all the way to now. Tatum is almost fifty and Griffin is in his forties. Tatum has been a piss poor mother, heroin addict, in and out of rehab for years, lost custody. Yet, she even seems to blame everything on Ryan and/or the poor me victim syndrome and that her kids love her and understand. Please. Griffin is a huge huge huge loser and scum. I believe Redmond and Ryan are extremely close and that he truly loves him, but Redmond will never change. Heroin addiction is tough. He is a huge addict. Watching Tatum in the Father/Daughter show on OWN, she came across so whiny and continually bringing up the past. He apologized as much as he is capable and they made some headway in counseling where he tried to make amends. But she wants him to pay for it forever and she wants to talk about it to him forever. And her jealousy even now of Farrah is bizarre. She couldn’t even let him enjoy a tribute they attended for Farrah, which was emotionally draining for him, without harassing him about the past. He is an old man. At some point grow up and accept your dad as is and enjoy your time with him before he dies. She is incapable. I came away liking him more and completely over martyr Tatum. Someone even said that in an interview when she was whining. He’s an old man, why don’t you move on from the past, accept you will never get full closure, and focus on where you are now if you want a relationship. What a novel idea. Or keep him out of your life and move on and focus on being a better parent yourself.

    Farrah Fawcett was extremely vain. When she and Ryan did that TV show together when she was in her forties she would hold up filming for hours she was so obssessed with her hair and looks. He has stated when she hit menopause it was a tough time. I have relatives who have told me it can be hell on earth for a while and for their spouses. Farrah said in an interview once they were both volatile and butted heads but that it was a passionate relationship. I do believe their love was true and deep even with all its dysfunctionality and spanned decades and all their ups and downs.

    • Mich says:

      Just because he is your father doesn’t mean you have to forgive him for being an unmitigated abusive bastard throughout your life. “Sorry” just isn’t enough sometimes. Seducing your teenage friends? Honestly. Does it get ANY lower? I would NEVER forgive that type of despicable behavior from one of my parents.

    • Mich says:

      Sorry…me again… you want her to forgive this and ‘enjoy him’ ?

      “While Tatum lived with her father, he regularly exposed her to his lascivious, promiscuous lifestyle. While growing up, Tatum was sexually abused by friends of both of her parents. Tatum was also physically and mentally abused by her father (Ryan O’Neal), although it was Tatum’s brother Griffin who received the most frequent and severe physical beatings at the hands of their father. When Tatum was nominated for an Academy Award for Paper Moon, but her father, who co-starred with her in the film was not nominated, her father berated her and belittled her acting ability. He further abused her when she won the Academy Award, so her memories surrounding receiving this award are mostly negative.

      Tatum O’Neal tried to commit suicide multiple times while growing up. After one attempt to kill herself by slashing her wrists, her father berated her efforts, telling her she had made her razor blade cuts in the wrong direction.”

      Honestly?

      p.s. I usually agree with things you post but on this we are completely at odds.

      • Jayna says:

        Mich, I understand all those things. My point was she sought him out again and they did a show. No matter how often he said he was sorry or acknowledged things it was never enough. I started watching the show rooting for her, but realized by the end she is a miserable person who lives in pity for herself and wants to blame him for everything. She has been a bad mother and makes excuses for that, rarely taking responsibility. She is the one that is trying to have a relationship with him. If she couldn’t forgive him or start anew or whatever, just move on and stop the whining. If you can’t forgive on some level, why are you spending time with him. If she wants the relationship, you can’t spend every second bringing it up to him. I watched the show and by the end of the show I was so tired of her and felt he had actually made some headway in facing what he had done and trying to apologize. But you can never get all the validation you want. It’s just not possible. That’s my point. I didn’t begrudge her the book or the second book or her anger or keeping him out of her life. But she is just an unhappy middle-aged woman, who has failed her children miserably (lost custody, and child visting walks in on heroin and needle), who has become the poster child for negativity, victimhood and whining, much like Carnie Wilson, where every interview is about her eating issues, not about what they are accomplishing in life.

      • Mich says:

        I’m sorry to be coming back at you again but I still don’t understand why you expect her to be functional or mentally well just because she is an adult and has children of her own. Despite her several attempts not to survive, she is an adult survivor of what I understand to be severe emotional, sexual and physical abuse that went on throughout her most formative years. I’m sure she has spent her entire adult life thinking ‘if only I do this it will make everything okay’ but does she even know what ‘okay’ is? And why would you expect a child who was so victimized by a parent to be able to forgive them no matter how much they wanted to or that parent said ‘sorry’? It wasn’t one event, it was years of events that had devastating consequences for the child, not the parent.

        Do we expect survivors of rape to ‘get over it’ after an arbitrary period of time? War veterans? Victims of extreme spousal abuse? No, we accept that they might be completely f’ed up for the rest of their lives. Tatum was a child and not everyone has the mental or emotional fortitude to move on, no matter how desperate they are for things to be okay.

      • Kathryn says:

        Tatum needs to move on and cut all ties with this S.O.B. They have a toxic relationship that a crummy Oprah show can never fix. Let him die and rot in hell.

      • cat1 says:

        I agree. it’s really hard to let go of something traumatic and she WAS so young. Horrible re: Academy Award treatment. I agree with your quote that’s in reply but I can’t reply to that. You’d hope therapy would help but I think many therapists aren’t that equipped to help people move on and get past things while living with what happened… It’s just sad all the way around. You’d hope tho’ the three different mothers would have some influence but if they were attracted to him then they had issues too, right? I wonder what his upbringing was like. He just seemed really lost. I’m sure the reason he did the book was to be in the spotlight – the only way he knows how now – and to make money — but he couldn’t say that. The way he talked about his kids was so horrible, so dismissive.

    • OriginalTiffany says:

      Jayna, I am sorry, but you should change your name to celebrity apologist.
      His kids are f’ed up because of his emotional, physical, perhaps sexual abuse and his exposing them to drugs and LEAVING them alone to go be with Farrah.

      This POS has treated every single person in his life the absolutely worst way. Karma has come back to bite his alone, shitty, abusive, using ass.

      None of his kids should ever forgive him, he was never a father, not even a bad father. Another Dina Lohan. He’s alone, forgets his kid’s names and is going to be dead soon.
      Or on Lupron, thereby shrinking everything below, making him into a woman hormonally and ruining not only his sex life but his quality of life. Then the bone mets. Ahh Karma. He’s lucky if any of his bio kids make overtures toward him.

      What did he ever do that was good for them? EVER? And you wonder why they are f’ed up.

      • Jayna says:

        LOL Where am I a celebrity apologist? I don’t even like Ryan Oneal, but do believe he and Farrah had a true love affair. He is an old man now who seems lost. It’s of his own making, but that’s not my concern.

        My point was Tatum will never forgive him, so stay away. Being together and going over something ad nauseum will never work. Many people from all walks of life have really bad childhoods or horrific childhoods. Few turn themselves into perpetual victims. Griffin O’Neal is scum pond and has not contributed to society in one way and he doesn’t get a pass from me for not living a life with purpose because he had a horrible upbringing. Tatum is truly talented. I loved her on Rescue Me. But like I said, at 50, by the end of the reunion show, I realized she liked playing the martyr instead of finding peace. Tatum is not a mean person, but she barely raised her own children and let drugs be more important and lost custody. Focus on your children and your sobriety and stay away from dad. She will never have the closure she wants. He is an old man and will never change. She, sadly, is hitting fifty, a time when actresses get no work. She has no relationship. She just seems very unhappy to me for many reasons, not just her upbringing. I read she was in rehab again recently.

        You can make excuses for scum Griffin all you want because he had an awful father, but that is no excuse for the way he has lived his life for 45 years.

    • Sometimes “sorry” isn’t enough. Sometimes sorry doesn’t even begin to make up for the abuse and neglect suffered. Some people NEVER get over it. Some people are just THAT damaged. And I’m speaking from experience as a psychologist.

      • anon33 says:

        I can’t even speak to what a parental sexual abuse situation would be like. All the more horrifying.

        But, building on what paranormalgirl has said above, as a survivor of multiple rapes by my ex, I am here to tell you that sometimes you don’t just get over it. It’s been 16 years since the last time I’ve even seen my ex, and I still nearly have a panic attack every time I try to engage in any kind of sexual activity with my husband.
        I’ve tried everything-all kinds of therapy, meds, behavior modification-for years. Nothing seems to make the memories go away, and time passing by has had no effect. I’ve been with my husband for ten years, I KNOW FOR A FACT he would never ever hurt me in that way, yet it’s still hard for me to be physically intimate with him.
        I can only imagine that for someone who is not of as strong of mind as I am, and who does not have the support of an amazing husband, family and group of friends, it would be that much harder to get over.

      • Jennifer says:

        Paranormal girl! Did u mean to play on a qoute from love story( one of his movies)? I believe they say the line a few times… Love means never having to say your sorry. Apparently it is not true 🙂

      • @Jennifer – did that unintentionally. But love means never doing something so damaging that saying you’re sorry could never be enough.

        @anon33 – I’m sorry you went through what you did. You are a strong person to not only be able to move away from what was done to you, but to talk about it.

        I can’t speak for Tatum or Griffin, but they had TWO parents who were incapable of successfully raising healthy children. There is more than likely a genetic component to addiction and both Ryan and Joanna were addicts. Couple the genetic predisposition with the environmental factors that were present and you have a perfect storm for damaged children who grow up into damaged adults. Some kids escape horrific childhoods intact, many don’t. And we don’t know why.

      • jaye says:

        I was molested by my aunt’s husband when I was a little girl and I can tell you that years later I would have panic attacks whenever he would come by my grandma’s house for his supervised visits w/my cousins. I would hide in a closet and wouldn’t come out for hours after he left because I was afraid he was hiding in the house waiting to get me. I was a teenager. Even as a young adult, the mention of his name would cause mild panic attacks…I couldn’t relax around my cousins when they were ON THE PHONE with him. It sounds so heartless, but when he finally died of AIDS all I could think was “good”. My abuse at his hands paled in comparison to what he did to his own daughters. Sometimes you can’t just “get over it and move on”.

      • imo says:

        ‘Few turn themselves into perpetual victims’
        I beg to differ here…playing the victim card is typical addict behavior…it shifts responsibility off them and onto someone else

    • Maguita says:

      What you are missing here is quite simple:

      After, maybe, apologizing to his children for his past abuse and putting them in harm’s way quite often and intentionally (because let’s face it, when you take your 13 year-old daughter to orgies and encourage your children to do hard drugs with you, you are very much intentionally putting them in harm’s way), Ryan O’Neil wrote a book where many parts are about HIS CHILDREN’s lives and mistakes, 1-without their approval, 2- quite apparently full of lies.

      Which negates whatever apologies he may have offered in the past, and brought back harsh memories to his children who are trying to move on. Once again, he is putting them in the spotlight just so he could get some media attention.

      That is why he is despicable, and that is why his children are in their absolute right to publicly call him out on his bullshit and lies. He is clearly not sorry for his past behavior as an unfit parent, but keeps intentionally his children of moving forward with their lives.

      Like I said in #9, the saddest thing is that payback, Karma if you will, is getting him back at a time where he is most vulnerable.

      Ain’t that a bitch.

    • Stellax2 says:

      I see both of your perspectives and agree. I was sick one day and they had marathon of Tatum and Ryan’s show and watched about 1 1/2 episodes. Tatum seemed so focused on receiving positive attention from her father because she never had it as a child.
      It happens. It happened to me. My parents were workaholics and I was expected to be an adult at all times, good grades, chores and then work. I appreciate the work ethic that I got from my parent’s; however I was labeled the black sheep and treated horribly during some very tragic times. I got over it. I had to because it wasn’t worth the punishment I was imposing on myself and others for things that were out of my control. I took control and responsibility for my actions.
      Didn’t Tatum recently return to rehab or am I thinking of someone else?

      I have a question or would like some input from fellow CB’s. My mom is now an alcoholic, a raging one. She never drank while I was growing up or as an adult. Approximately, 6 years ago she started to enjoy her wine, then had a physically debilitating illness, menopause, etc., and it turned into a cyclone. A powerful business woman and mother turned into this depressed, self loathing individual. Here’s one of the problems, she leaves the house in her car and drinks. She’s never been arrested for a DUI but it’s only a matter of time. Tonight she disappeared from the house for 6 hours. I kept calling my father to see if she had returned. I told him to call the police, give the tag number and put on the lookout before she kills someone and herself. She’s been to rehab 2x and it has not been successful. She’s in complete denial. She lies and lies. We are attempting to get her into another facility along with a great psychiatrist who specialized in addiction.
      I’m afraid she’s going to kill someone while driving. Any suggestions? She’s 63 and has blackouts too. I told my father to take her keys away but he is so frustrated and disgusted that he’s channeling all of his energy into his first grandchild via my sister and brother in law.
      I want her off the road. It’s like a sixteen year old completely out of control. Most families would do something?
      My father needs to get himself to Al Anon and I’ve told him repeatedly. He’s not equipped to handle the situation.
      Any thoughts?

      • unfortunately, you can’t force someone into successful recovery, nor can you force someone into seeking assisance they don’t want. The only thing you can do at this point is seek assistance yourself through something like Al Anon. Your father’s not going to do it at this point, so it’s kind of up to you.

      • olaf78 says:

        With regards to your mother your instincts are correct. Do what you deem right, what you will be able to live with. SHe is acting in not only a self-destructive manner but simple in a destructive manner.

        Not be critical but it seems like, just as in the past, your parents are expecting you to be the caretaker. Your father seems to be taking care of his interests above dealing with his responsibilities.

        I have a similar history to you (except that one of my parents is emotionally abusive and the other is cold and traumatised by it) and I find it difficult still to get over it. Power to you.

    • Viv says:

      Thank you Jayna, I totally appreciate your comments here. I agree that Tatum sought him out for a show and may need to let go. It may not be a matter of forgiving but taking responsibility for your life. I had a father who made our lives hell, not a drug abuser but still on many levels comparable to Ryan. He is now a broken little old man. One of my siblings still blames my dad for everything that goes wrong in her life, my other sibling is daily striving to be the best dad that he can to his own children. I myself initially vowed to never forgive, he’s never tried to make amends like Ryan, but I am a Christian and I try to do the right thing and be civil. While I may not “enjoy” him, I have decided to be there for him whenever he needs me and I do so without bringing up bad stuff or gloating about his bad karma kicking his ass now. Do I want to sometimes? Yes. Would it make me feel better? No. At the end of the day we all need to live our own lives and the worst people will one day be little lonely old people and that is a punishment already. No matter how horrible I think Ryan is now, I would not want to be him. And if Tatum wants to make life better for herself, maybe she should just keep a distance. If somebody is toxic, stay away from them, don’t let them be in your life by even thinking about them. And if you decide that family ties mean a lot no matter what, accept and deal with it the best you can without negativity. Some people will never be able to make amends even if they would like to. That is my take.

    • Vesper says:

      “At some point grow up and accept your dad as is and enjoy your time with him before he dies”.

      Spoken by someone who has never been abused by a family member.

  12. Hate to break to you, but Redmond was a full-blown mess and loser way before his mother actually passed way. This kid has never done ANYTHING useful or productive with his life. He’s been involved with drugs since the word GO. Ryan O’Neil is a pathetic piece of dirt that has never been anything other than a pathetic piece of dirt. I still can’t get over how FOX cast him as Brennan’s dad on “Bones”. Like father, like son. This family was LOHAN well before the LOHAN’s.

  13. Bella says:

    I guess you dont have any fans,or sympathy…

  14. hopperlea says:

    I have no sympathy for this man. He is just a narcissistic addict who wants more attention and sympathy. He is shitty useless father who raised shitty useless children.

    All their money and opportunities and they are all still losers.

  15. Amanda G says:

    Ryan was such a good looking man back in the day; I loved him in What’s Up Doc. Anyway, karma is a bitch Ryan! You treated your family and your lover terribly and now you’re all alone. I watched part of his OWN show with Tatum and he is SO lonely and lost without Farrah. She’s all he would talk about and it drove Tatum crazy. As for the kids and their problems, you can’t play the victim forever and you also can’t expect a father like that to change. I agree with the person above who said they are all grown adults and have to take responsibility for their problems.

  16. Str8Shooter says:

    Now THERE is the understatement of the century. Yeah, I’ll go one step further and say a BAD HUMAN BEING, too.

    Sorry, but anyone who hits on their own freakin’ DAUGHTER at their girlfriend’s funeral is a piece of SHIT unworthy of consuming oxygen.

  17. Princess Lizabeth says:

    Ryan O’Neal a bad parent? REALLY?! Who would have guessed?

    (eyes rolling…)

  18. TXCinderella says:

    Ryan was always a good looking dude, but after I read Tatum’s autobiography I despised this guy. Every one of his children has serious issues, mental and drug. Why? Because he’s been a absent Dad for many, many years, and Tatum said herself that her Dad was too into himself to bother with anyone else. All of his poor kids lost their Mothers, and Ryan has not been there for them, it’s all about him. He will never admit that he was a bad father and that was one of the things that Tatum was having a problem with. Ryan just doesn’t see that he did anything wrong.

    • LakeMom says:

      Wasn’t trained to be a father? Well, who is? Pretty piss-poor excuse for absolving himself of his responsibility.

      No one is trained to be a parent. You just put your kids first and try to do your best. Ryan didn’t even try.

      • angiepangie says:

        people who have parents that set a good example and are loving and kind are ‘trained’ imo

      • Mich says:

        Yeah. I’m thinking “don’t beat them up, allow them to be sexually abused by your friends or laugh at their multiple suicide attempts” would be pretty obvious without “training”.

      • Marie Antoinette Jr. says:

        That’s how I understand him too, angiepangie.

  19. Mich says:

    This man is a complete POS and I don’t feel an ounce of pity for him now that he is scared he is close to the end of the line. He held himself accountable for nothing in life and the emotional state of every single one of his children tells the real story of the the kind of man he is. Choke on the scorn Ryan. You deserve no quarter just because you are no longer in a position to bully now.

  20. Gossip Hound says:

    I read A Paper Life when it came out and I was horrified at Tatum’s account of her childhood. When the O’Neal reality show came out, I had to watch it. It was so frustrating to watch the therapy sessions. Tatum kept wanting Ryan to acknowledge or admit that he messed up really bad, and he just wouldn’t do it. It was the same thing over and over. He wouldn’t cop to ANYTHING! Maybe he is ready to admit it now. He is a casebook narcissist. Stay off tv and stop writing books to profit from your bad behavior dude!

  21. Sumodo1 says:

    Waste. Of. Skin.

  22. kells-bells says:

    He’s just such a disgusting human being and I have no idea why Hollywood continues to give him the time of day!
    He has a book, a reality show and a recurring role on BONES – ironically playing a loving father, which is incredibly hard to stomach, let alone buy!
    He broke one of his sons noses &knocked out his teeth, and he introduced his children to hard drugs!
    There’s nothing redeeming about him – He’s horrible!

  23. lucy2 says:

    He is a horrible person, and it’s gross that he’s continuing to try to cash in on Farrah to this day.
    His children would all be much better off cutting him out of their lives, but they’re probably all too messed up to realize that.

  24. fabgrrl says:

    Assh*le.

  25. JudyK says:

    Also remember his reputed affair with Farrah’s best friend while she was sick, being documented, and undergoing treatments in a foreign country and also denying Farrah’s friends visiting rights when she was back home and dying.

    I think he was afraid Farrah would reveal the truth to her friends.

  26. Dirty Martini says:

    Oh jeez. Where to start. RON is one f’d up mess of a parent. There are no excuses. At the same time…..at soem point, we all turn into adults and have complete responsibility and accountability for our own actions. I actually like TON, have a sense of empathy for her, and want to see her pull her life together and quit being a whiney, self absorbed, living in the past bi-atch. Robert Downy Jr did it–why cant she? She is almost that talented. I just want to see her shed her train wreck of a past, claim her future and move on. Next and back to RON–he’s beyond repair. I have little resepct for him, and nothing but pity. He is (was) one fine physical speciman. He and FF together where just plain the epitome of human DNA perfection. Too bad they were both completely failed human beings.

    I find Tatum oh so much more (possibly) interesting. If girlfriend will ever just pull it together…

    But turning 50 and still acting like this? yuk.

    • Vesper says:

      From my experience some of the addicts that have the hardest time getting clean are those who were sexually abused. I can’t help but wonder.

      • DirtyMartini says:

        You may well be right. Even so, at some point, there is an age or level of maturity that says “time to buck up, walk away from the past, chose my future, and be completely and totally responsible for my own life from this day forward.”. I’m thinking 50 is a good place for her to do so. If so, sorry, I can’t blame him forever solely and singularly. I will never cut him slack…but at some point, I have to cut her less slack too. . Yes, you too can be codependent in your own choices. If she’s age 50+ and still codependenr n this drama,,,,,yeah, I blame her for her own part in it.

  27. stinky says:

    well i believe the panic-attack story, at least. he was prolly on Xanax this morning when he followed thru w/ the appearance on the Today show…. and it does make u sleepy when u first take it. on to everyday stuff – my mom forgets my name, and my sibling’s name (or she mixes us up which annoys the heck outta me). i forget plenty too. just sayin’.

  28. Pat Dorty says:

    Ya Think?! That’s the under statement of the year!

  29. Anahata says:

    It’s bittersweet, but honestly Paper Moon is such a beautiful and moving film. It almost showcases what their father/daughter relationship could have been. And Tatum is such a beautiful promising child to watch. So sad.

    • hazeldazel says:

      him getting prostate cancer is the universe giving him the biggest karma “F.U.”

      I hope once he passes, the kids can get their heads together and be in a better place.

      Poor Tatum O’Neal and poor Thora Birch.

  30. Penguin says:

    Heard lots of stories of o’neal being sexually/physically abusive towards his kids/underage girls. Disgusting I hope it’s not true.

  31. alexandra says:

    My question is: What Happenned to Ryan as a child? Childhood trauma becomes a cycle, abused children become abusers, negligent parents. Because you are fifty or sixty does not make you less abused. abused children stay in the age that caused trauma. Meaning you can be 50 but if you were emotionally scarred at 6 that is your emotional age. It is hard to understand unless you are in those shoes. I feel sorry for him because it is too late to repair the past. He must probably was a broken child and repeated the cycle with his children. It is sad but it is all around us. Maybe closer than you think

    • Karen says:

      So Well Said. I think his spirit was intended to be kinder and truer. Issues fo sho.

    • Penguin says:

      I do agree with ur post to a certain degree. My father was a child of physical & sexual abuse and it made him more determined to end the cycle of abuse when he had his own children. He was the perfect father to me & my sister, I Cldnt wish for a better dad. So it makes me so angry that my dad died of cancer @ 40 bt this pos is still alive in his 60s or 70s.

  32. Karen says:

    I find it so sad that his memoir is based on Farrah’s celebrity instead of his earned rights as a most talented actor – shows his desperation and the fact that, although it should be different, he will be not be remembered as the Robert Redford quality actor he was, as much as the hanger-on-er who became way too “socially friendly” with his children until they cramped his style. Sigh.

  33. Jackie says:

    maybe when he passes away, his children will finally get some relief from this abusive, sick man.

  34. Penguin says:

    Apparently when Farrah was on her deathbed 1 of the other charlies angels came to pay her last respects. That sicko blocked her, refused to let her see her.

  35. wallycally says:

    i mean he’s clearly a total narcissist. i guess he might be lost as well but it’s hard to feel any sympathy for a sociopath narcissist.

  36. Cirque28 says:

    I think he’s mildly brain-damaged at this point, perhaps from all the years of addiction.

    Poor Farrah. O’Neal must have been very draining to be around.

  37. Kelly says:

    Well his children had mothers too. Cannot blame him 100 percent for Redmond, he was also Farrah Fawcett’s son. As for Tatum and Griffin, in her autobiography it seemed as if their mother was a worse parent. The whole situation is sad.

  38. Chris says:

    Let that be a lesson to you kids. When you reflect on your life it’ll be the way you treated people, not whether you got what you wanted or not, that’ll cause you your biggest regrets.

  39. blah says:

    Wow Ryan. What other pearls of wisdom are you going to throw our way? That the sky is blue and beer kills brain cells?

  40. Sapphire says:

    I’ll probably get lunched for this but RON deserves the worst karma-die alone…

  41. frothy says:

    regarding farrah, she was no angel. she was banned from several rodeo drive shops due to her obscene shoplifting. for reals…!

  42. Amy says:

    Narcisstic much? He tried to come off as defending Farrah when the reality was that he exposed all her secrets in his book.oTrying to come off as her knight in shining armor when in fact he abused her and cheated on her. Not saying she was any better. They were horrible for each other and brought out the worst in each other it seems.I agree he was an appallingly bad parent however their mother (Tatum and Griffin) was non functional so she was even worse. Hard to figure out what produced this guy’s appalling selfabsorption. Insecurity? Or was he completely spoiled as a child? He certainly was a gorgeous young man. Make you wonder how he got his big break. Maybe he had to do some “casting couch” stuff that left him screwed up dunno. The kids are adults now however and certainly responsible for their own choices.. If they choose to stay away from him I wouldn’t blame them.

  43. ViloDeMenus says:

    Farrah’s dead so it’s harder to blame her, but she knew what Ryan was and apparently was completely indifferent to what he was doing to those kids, including her own child. Disasters, all of them. There is no point to any blame game because they are simply all quite broken and will die that way. Very sad.