Melissa Gilbert is slammed for lecturing child star parents in wake of Daveigh Chase's death - while her own husband fights child sex accusations in court

Actress Melissa Gilbert has been criticized on social media after she made a lengthy post on Instagram lecturing child star parents in response to the death of The Ring actress Daveigh Chase.

The recent backlash comes as Gilbert's husband, Timothy Busfield,  in court. He has denied the allegations.

Daveigh Chase, best known for playing the little girl in the horror film The Ring, died aged 35 on June 16 from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) - the most advanced stage of infection, according to the LA County Medical Examiner.

Chronic polysubstance use - the repeated use of more than one drug over a short period of time - was also listed as a significant condition contributing to her death.

Chase had been living on the streets of for years before she died. Her mother,  that she believes her daughter's battle with addiction began after a motorcycle accident around 2016, when Daveigh injured her back and was prescribed strong painkillers, including oxycodone.

On Monday, Gilbert, 61, took to Instagram to discuss Daveigh's death and warn of the dangers of child stardom and the way it can make parents 'lose sight of... what their true responsibility is.' 

'I only worked with Daveigh a couple of days but I could see she was bright both in countenance and in mind. She was bubbly, sweet and professional,' Gilbert wrote in her post. 

'But there was something else there, a push or need to perform …for her parents,' the actress, who played the role of Laura Ingalls Wilder on The Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983, continued. 

Busfield could face up to 15 years in custody if convicted on all counts. Pictured 2023