Sara Gilbert Says She’s ‘Disappointed’ in Roseanne Barr Following Controversial Comments

Roseanne star Sara Gilbert called Roseanne Barr’s comments about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett “abhorrent” and said she was “disappointed” by Barr’s actions.

“Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least,” Gilbert wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

“This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love— one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member,” Gilbert added.

Gilbert’s statement comes after Roseanne consulting producer Wanda Sykes announced she would not be returning to the upcoming season of the ABC sitcom.

“I will not be returning to [Roseanne],” Sykes wrote on Twitter hours before Gilbert’s statement on Twitter.

Gilbert’s and Sykes’ statements come just hours after Barr apologized for a horrific “bad joke” about Jarrett, suggesting that she is a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes. Barr apologized Tuesday, calling her comment a “bad joke.”

“I apologize. I am now leaving Twitter,” Barr wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. A few minutes later, she tweeted, “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”

“muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=[Valerie Jarrett],” Barr tweeted earlier in response to a post about Jarrett.

The initial tweet causing backlash was sent in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Barr has since deleted the tweet.

Jarrett, who is African-American with no ties to the Sunni Muslim organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood, was one of the most senior and long-term presences in the Obama White House.

Sykes’ departure and Gilbert’s statement about Barr come weeks after the exit of one of the show’s showrunners, Whitney Cummings. Earlier this month, it was revealed by one of Roseanne’s showrunners and executive producers, Bruce Helford, that Cummings wouldn’t be returning for season 11 of the rebooted comedy series.

“I think Whitney is going to be too busy,” Helford told The Hollywood Reporter. “Whitney is always a member of the family of the show but she’s got so much going on. I don’t know how she had time to work on the show in the first place. I don’t think she’ll be able to join us in the capacity she was joining us in this first season.”

Earlier this year, Cummings told THR that she felt as thought she had to be the “PC police” behind the scenes.

“I was the ‘you can’t say that anymore’ and ‘now this is the word we use’ one,” said Cummings, who was still in grade school when Roseanne originally bowed. “And they were like, ‘Yeah, but that’s not how people in this town at this age in this income bracket talk.’ And I learned, it’s not about what we would say, it’s about what they would say.”