Roseanne Barr Slams Former Castmate For Saying Their Show Was ‘Rightfully’ Canceled

Refusing to hold back her true thoughts, Roseanne Barr slammed her former Roseanne castmate, Michael Fishman, after he claimed the show’s reboot was “rightfully canceled” due to her 2018 racist comments.

While appearing on the Can’t Be Censored podcast, the comedian called out Fishman for his comments. “He f—ing doesn’t even f—ing know what I said,” she declared. “Even though I’ve explained it 10,000 times for nine years on the internet.”

Barr then said that Fishman “hasn’t even taken the time to listen” to what she said about the controversial situation and referred to him as a “brainwashed bigot.”

She went on to note that Fishman, who portrayed her TV son DJ Conner on the show, had previously asked her to explain the rant to him in private. However, the comedian said she had already tried, which led her to give him a not-so-friendly response.

“I told him, ‘Let me explain this to you, Michael. Go and f– yourself and stay f—ed until the day you die. Don’t f—ing put my name in your f—ing mouth. Shut the f— up,’” she recalled.

Continuing to attack Fishman, Barr said that he would never understand what she said because the Democratic part had been “shoved up [his] throat and up [his] a–.”

While seemingly speaking to Fishman directly, Barr stated, “F— you. You have no geopolitical context whatsoever to discuss what I said. Go f— yourself, you little f—ing worm.”

She went on to take credit for Fishman’s casting on the Roseanne reboot. “I was the only reason you were on that show. They wanted to get rid of you in the reboot, and I made them take you back. F— you, you little f—ing putz.”

During her 2018 rant, Barr made racial comments about President Obama’s former adviser Valerie Jarrett. Although she issued an apology shortly after, ABC decided to cancel the reboot. Days after the cancellation, Barr slammed Fishman, claiming he had thrown her “under the bus” after he condemned her actions.

However, the cancellation decision was eventually reversed, with the show returning as a spinoff to Roseanne called The Conners and the comedian being killed off.

Fishman recently spoke out about the Roseanne cancellation, stating that while “good people make mistakes” and he “love[s] the one who made the mistake” and “always will,” the cancellation was the right call.

“I’ll always have compassion and love [for Barr],” he stated. “And I’ve shown it continuously, and she helped the world understand that good people can make mistakes.”

However, Fishman noted, “But there was no joke. There was only damage and dehumanizing — and perpetuating racial tropes leads to real-world consequences.”

Fishman appeared on The Conners as a main cast member for the first four seasons. His character was written off the show during its fifth season.

The Conners wrapped up its final season in April 2025.