Roseanne Fires Back at Sara Gilbert Amid Show Cancellation: 'Unreal'

Roseanne Barr seems shocked by her former Roseanne co-star Sara Gilbert's reaction to Barr's [...]

By Libby Birk

Roseanne Barr seems shocked by her former Roseanne co-star Sara Gilbert's reaction to Barr's racially insensitive tweet that set the wheels in motion for ABC to cancel the veteran sitcom.

After retweeting Gilbert's statement from Tuesday afternoon, which said Gilbert was "disappointed" in Barr's "abhorrent" remarks, Barr replied to Gilbert: "Wow! unreal."

She later clarified in a tweet responding to a supporter bashing Gilbert that she "understands her position" and admitted that she "f—ed up."

When the fan implied that Gilbert's success was owed to Barr, Barr responded, "no, I understand her position and why she said what she said. i forgive her. it just shocked me a bit, but I indeed f—ed up."

She told another fan bashing Gilbert that Gilbert is "distancing herself from me and my tweet-she has to."

Gilbert took to Twitter shortly after Barr's racially insensitive comment toward former Barack Obama advisor Natalie Jarrett made headlines.

"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.

She went on to add that "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."

Shortly after Gilbert's statement came the announcement from ABC President of Entertainment Channing Dungey that the upcoming season of Roseanne would be canceled.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," Dungey said in a brief statement, according to a report from Entertainment Tonight.

Before the network announced Roseanne's cancellation, Barr apologized for her initial comments about Jarrett that suggested she was the offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes.

"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."

Robert Iger, the CEO of ABC's parent company, Walt Disney, wrote on Twitter that canceling the show was "the right thing" to do.

ABC also pulled a scheduled Roseanne re-run Tuesday night, replacing it with a re-run of The Middle. It will likely not air next Tuesday, either. Hulu has dropped all of season 10's episodes from its streaming platform, but the original seasons 1-9 are still available on Amazon Prime Video.

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