After addressing Sara Gilbert’s comments about her, Roseanne Barr spoke out about her ABC firing in a recent interview. Her comments have done little to sway the public’s opinion about the star.
Hollywood star Roseanne Barr has made bold claims about what she believes ABC did before the network fired her in a new interview. After taking a two-decade hiatus, Barr returned to ABC in 2018, which saw her accomplish great feats such as sky-high ratings and a congratulatory phone call from the US President himself. However, one tweet she made sent her career resurgence tumbling down.
Barr did not hold back as she revisited the tweet that led to her abrupt firing from ABC and the cancellation of her hit sitcom reboot. According to her, the fallout was not the result of an isolated mistake, but rather a culmination of what she alleges was a long-running effort by network executives to silence her.
“They were waiting for me to slip up,” she claimed. “They spied. They monitored everything I did. They wanted to censor me from the very beginning.”
The actress, now 72, believes her conservative views and support for Donald Trump made her a target within the industry. She pointed directly at what was described as ABC’s “liberal-leaning” executives, whom she believes were uneasy about her popularity and unapologetic populism.
“They hijacked that tweet and made out it said something that it didn’t,” she added, maintaining that her infamous 2 a.m. post was never intended to be racist.
The tweet in question called former Barack Obama advisor, Valerie Jarrett, a combination of a character from “Planet of the Apes” and the Muslim Brotherhood. This comment immediately drew intense backlash, with the network condemning the incident as “abhorrent, repugnant,” and inconsistent with their values.
Even Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Bob Iger insisted, “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing,” when explaining ABC’s reprehension of Barr.
At the time of the backlash she received, Barr had offered a myriad of explanations, like late-night tweeting after taking prescription medication, for her jab at Jarrett. The former presidential aide has African-American parents, but was born in Iran.
But Barr insisted she had no idea of Jarrett’s African-American ancestry at the time and was instead referencing her political role in the Iran nuclear deal, which Barr, a staunch supporter of Israel, vehemently opposed.
“I’m not stupid. I would never refer to a black [sic] person as the product of an ape,” she said. “The ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie is about a fascist takeover of the world — and that is what I was talking about. The tweet was intended as a humorous political statement and not a racial one. But liberals in Hollywood are so racist, they automatically think of a black [sic] person.”
Barr went further, claiming the culture around her had already been poisoned. Off-screen, her tweets had started ruffling feathers within the network. She was allegedly under constant scrutiny from what she dubbed ABC’s “LGBTQ+CIA mafia,” which she accuses of watching her every move.
She also recalled being asked to delete a separate tweet about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, and pointed to what she views as a consistent effort to muzzle her voice.
“They’ll never get me. They’ll never take me down because I’m smarter — and funnier — than they are,” Barr declared. “And that’s the undercurrent of the documentary: you can’t destroy someone who doesn’t submit.”
From her perspective, Barr’s most critical mistake wasn’t the tweet itself, but apologizing for it. “The worst mistake you can do is apologize to the left. Then they are on a crusade against you [sic],” she remarked. “Once you admit a mistake, they will keep on until you’re dead.”
For Barr, the pain of cancellation still lingers, but she has little regret. The entertainer, hailed as America’s “domestic goddess,” became an “irredeemable racist overnight,” all because, in her view, a misunderstood political jab was twisted into something far more damning.
These themes — betrayal, censorship, and cultural war — are central to her upcoming documentary, “Roseanne Barr is America,” directed by conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert.
In the film, she reportedly recounts her battle with cancel culture and reflects on what she sees as a coordinated takedown, both personal and ideological.
Barr’s remarks may have reignited her own public defense, but online, the response was swift — and largely unforgiving. Many netizens showed little sympathy for the embattled comedian, arguing that her downfall was self-inflicted. “She did it to herself!” exclaimed one critic, while another echoed the sentiment, “She got what she deserved.”
A third chimed in with, “She is getting her karma. She only has herself to blame. She will continue to get her karma until she opens her racist eyes.”
Others expressed outright disbelief or indifference toward Barr’s continued efforts to defend herself. “Why does she think people believe her???” asked one commenter. “Is she still important????” wondered someone else.
Some people appeared frustrated by what they saw as Barr’s perpetual deflection. One netizen simply noted, “Always the victim.”
Still, not everyone joined in on the criticism. A handful of supporters pushed back against the backlash, with one arguing, “They stole her show so [sic] they should have to pay her back now. Cancel culture is over!” Another added, “I believe it.”
To understand Barr’s explosive claims today, one has to look back at her decades-long tension with left-leaning Hollywood.
Born to Jewish parents in Salt Lake City, Utah, and shaped by a troubled youth marked by trauma, institutionalization, and teenage pregnancy, Barr’s outsider status fueled both her comedy and her combative spirit.
She broke through with a raw, working-class persona that defied industry norms, often clashing with executives and writers behind the scenes.
As “Roseanne” soared to number one, so did tensions, especially as Barr became more outspoken — first as a self-described socialist, later as a fierce Trump supporter. By the time she returned for the reboot in 2018, she viewed herself as a cultural lightning rod.
According to Roseanne Barr, her conservative politics had already made her a target, and her tweet merely gave critics the ammunition they’d been waiting for.
The “Home on the Range” talent’s recent reflections come after another instance in which she opened up about the emotional toll of her abrupt exit from television. She revealed the depths of her despair and the personal betrayal she believes contributed to her downfall.
The actress shared how the fallout from her career setback pushed her to a breaking point, describing it as one of the darkest periods of her life.
She also accused former co-star Sara Gilbert of playing a pivotal role in the controversy that led to her downfall, reigniting tensions between the two. Barr’s candid remarks offered a glimpse into the lingering impact of the scandal and her struggle to move forward.
Despite the controversy surrounding Barr’s ABC firing, the network moved forward with a rebranded version of the show. “The Conners” replaced “Roseanne,” with Barr’s character written off, and it has remained a key part of the network’s primetime lineup.
Since then, the actress has largely stayed out of the spotlight, aside from a 2019 tour with Andrew Dice Clay. She had also previously distanced herself from social media, stating in a 2023 interview, “I’m not on Twitter. That’s been a great thing for me, to be off that.”
Stepping away from the public eye allowed Barr time to process the fallout, though the experience left a lasting impact. “I’ve survived. I’ve come out on the other side of it, finally,” she said, calling the ordeal a “witch-burning” that she found terrifying.
While reflecting, the TV star described it as a deeply painful period, “I would die many times. I guess you would call it the dark night of the soul. I felt like the devil himself was coming against me to try to tear me apart, to punish me for believing in God.”
Barr asserted that she was never given the chance to make amends, stating that she felt deeply disliked. She believed the animosity stemmed from her talent and willingness to express her opinions. Despite “Roseanne” being the network’s top show, she claimed they preferred to cancel it rather than continue its success.
The Utah native recalled being caught off guard by how events unfolded, particularly the response from network executives. During the initial call, she insisted she had believed Jarrett was white and offered to explain the misunderstanding on her show, but claimed they refused, dismissing her apology as insincere.
Comparing her situation to other controversies in Hollywood, she pointed out that while public figures like Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. faced backlash, they were not completely shut out.
“I’m the only person who’s lost everything, whose life’s work was stolen, stolen by people who I thought loved me,” she said. The silence from the industry was particularly painful, though she expressed gratitude for comedian Mo’Nique, whom she called a close, brave, and dear friend for publicly standing by her.
Barr’s disappointment was also deepened by the lack of support from those she had worked with. She struggled to understand their actions, especially after the effort she put into reviving the show. Before ABC announced the show’s cancellation, Gilbert condemned Barr’s remarks, calling them “abhorrent” and insisting they did not reflect the views of the cast or crew.
Barr later blamed the actress, who started on the show when she was 13, stating, “She destroyed the show and my life with that tweet. She will never get enough until she consumes my liver with a fine Chianti.”
The veteran star’s frustration over Gilbert’s public remarks only grew as the fallout continued. She believed that not only had her former co-star stabbed her in the back, but she had also repeatedly discussed the controversy on her now-canceled talk show, “The Talk,” expressing shock over Barr’s comments.
Feeling pushed to her limit, Barr eventually confronted Gilbert directly, warning, “You better shut your blanking mouth about me, I’m telling you. You better shut your […] mouth.” According to Barr, the criticism stopped after that.
Despite the turmoil, she eventually came to terms with what happened. Although the decision to erase her character from the show was painful, she chose to forgive, believing that being removed from the situation was a form of protection.
