Sara Gilbert is sending her love and support to Roseanne costar Emma Kenney after the teenager said she was “going to be seeking treatment for my battles.”
The Talk co-host, 43, spoke out about Kenney, 18, on Thursday, praising the young actress’ strength and saying the teen is “an example for other people.”
“I first want to say, Emma, I’m so proud of you. I know that the whole cast and crew are so proud of you,” Gilbert said. “And it takes a lot of courage to — we have a lot of demons — it takes a lot of courage to face them, particularly at 18. I envy you.”
Gilbert continued, “If I could go back to being 18 and start doing things to better myself at the pace you’re doing, I would be a better person today. So, I commend you, I love you and I know you will come out the other side. Thank you for speaking up and being an example for other people.”
Gilbert urged people to seek help if they needed it.
“Friends, therapists, whoever, you just reach out to people and say I need a hand, I’m not doing well with this right now or this,” she said. “And I think that’s nothing to be ashamed of and she’s setting a great example for people.”
Kenney revealed to In Touch on Wednesday that she had entered treatment but did not specify which type of treatment she is seeking.
“I’m going to work through it,” Kenney said. “I’m going to get help and make better choices.”
The actress, who also stars in Shameless, also released a statement to Entertainment Tonight, saying she “was running with a really fast crowd. I was being naive and very immature, and I was doing things I should not be doing because it was illegal and I’m not 21.”
Reflecting on the choices she was making, Kenney shared, “It wasn’t healthy, and it was making me feel even worse — anxious and depressed.”
“It was just a slippery slope that I did not want to go down,” she added. “And I knew that I needed to stop it.”
She told In Touch that by seeking treatment, Kenney intends to “work on finding other ways to cope with boredom, find hobbies and better learn how to deal with stress.”
“I just think I need a mental sanity break and a break from the Hollywood scene,” she said.
