Tatum O’Neal Shares Honest Reaction to Late Dad Ryan O’Neal Cutting Her Out of His Will: ‘Keep It, Motherf—–‘

Tatum O’Neal is letting things go.

Speaking with Variety as part of her cover feature for the Feb. 26 issue, the Oscar-winning actress reflected on surviving addiction and a stroke as well as accepting being left out of her late father Ryan O’Neal‘s will.

Tatum, 60 — who starred alongside her father in 1973’s Paper Moon and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, making her the youngest person to win at just 10 years old — had previously documented her challenging relationship with her father in her 2004 biography A Paper Life. Ryan died on Dec. 8, 2023 after being diagnosed with chronic leukemia in 2001 and with prostate cancer in 2012.

The Little Darlings actress believes her father removed her from his will due to the contents of her memoir, which detailed her father’s violent temper, as well as her being sexually abused by a member of her father’s inner circle.

“The first book that I wrote was just a f—– honest book. And that’s what got him,” she said.

Facing financial concerns, from health care expenses including a recent neck surgery and speech therapy to having lost $1 million to an accountant who she says “took advantage of her” amid her heroin addiction, Tatum was not pleased to learn she had been left out of her father’s will.

However, the actress told Variety she had one message for the late actor: “Keep it, motherf—–.”

Tatum’s son Kevin McEnroe, who was present for the Variety interview to support his mother, added “It’s blood money.”

The actress added an upcoming documentary project about her life has the potential to help with money woes. Kevin, 38, shared that for his mother, the most important thing is moving forward. “I think the best revenge is your own success,” McEnroe said, adding that in the years since his grandfather’s passing, his mom has begun “letting go of how much space he took up in her life.”

Despite a challenging relationship and being estranged for decades, Tatum and her father began their journey toward reconciliation in 2008 after Ryan’s then-partner Farah Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2010, Tatum explained that she had given Ryan’s phone number to her son Sean McEnroe, as she was concerned about her father’s wellbeing amid Fawcett’s illness. Months after Fawcett’s death at age 62 in June 2009, she received a call from her father and the two decided to meet.

“He told me he’s sorry,” Tatum said of the meeting. “He’s all I have in terms of family, and I needed him in my life. My dad was absolutely everything to me.”

In 2020, McEnroe shared a touching photo of the two sitting by each other.

“This is one of the most memorable photos of my life. The last time we were all together was at the 30-year Paper Moon Anniversary in 2003,” McEnroe, 49, captioned the photo, which showed both Tatum and Ryan smiling alongside McEnroe and the two other children Tatum shares with ex-husband John McEnroe — son Kevin, now 38, and daughter Emily, now 33.