Barron Trump, the only child of Melania Trump and former US President Donald Trump, was a victim of the gruesome viral video released in November 2016. As the former first lady has been active on social media ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir in October 8, she broke her silence about how her son was bullied in person and online because of Rosie O’Donnell.

According to the Daily Beast, which reviewed the copy of her 184-page book, Melania reported that Melania has addressed the persistent rumors that Trump’s youngest children may have autism.

In her book “Melania,” the former first lady takes aim at her husband’s critics and also addresses several issues that have surrounded her since Trump’s candidacy in 2015.

But the section about O’Donnell is perhaps the most damning about one of the couple’s alleged rivals and the most revealing about their 18-year-old son, whose privacy has until now been carefully guarded by his mother.

The dispute with O’Donnell began when Barron, now 18, was seen in a gruesome viral video that went viral in November 2016. The video claimed that Barron’s behavior showed signs of autism spectrum disorder, such as his failure to clap his hands together after his father’s speech at the Republican National Convention.

The comedian and former co-host of The View shared the video on Twitter, now X, and expressed her sympathy for Trump’s youngest son. She called it an “opportunity to bring attention to what she called the “autism epidemic.”

Melania hits back at Rosie O’Donnell

Melania rejects false claims that Barron is autistic, admitting in her book that she is “horrified by this cruelty.”

“It was clear to me that her point was not to raise awareness of autism. I felt like she attacked my son because she didn’t like my husband,” Trump’s third wife wrote, clapping back at O’Donnell.

She makes it clear that she saw the entire video, which was later removed by the person who posted it.

She mentions: “Someone had carefully compiled the footage and added captions such as: ‘His hands move erratically and do not touch each other.'” He was then seen making strange movements in his seat, typical of children with autism.’

Read also: Barron Trump reveals his “embarrassing” nickname Melania gave him

Melania further clarified that Barron acted his age since he was only ten years old at the 2016 RNC in Cleveland.

“There’s nothing shameful about autism (although O’Donnell’s tweet suggested so), but Barron is not autistic,” she explains.

She describes O’Donnell’s behavior as “devastating as a mother” and accuses her of “pure malice.” Barron’s mother also admits that she felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces.

Shortly after Melania hired an experienced attorney to take over the video’s original poster, O’Donnell deleted her tweet and apologized, claiming that one of her daughters was on the autism spectrum.

She recounted her experience with Barron, who was bullied both in person and online after the incident, calling it a “clear indication of the irreparable damage caused.”

Melania’s book is expected to go on sale before the November 5 election.