Roseanne Barr Breaks Her Silence on Show’s Cancellation

Roseanne Barr has officially broken her silence on ABC’s cancellation of the Roseanne revival.

After announcing that she was “leaving Twitter” following a racist and Islamaphobic comment that she had made about former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, series star Roseanne Barr has returned with her first comment regarding her series’ cancellation.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!!” Barr wrote. “I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people,and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet.”

Se also revealed her first interview after the controversy will be on Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.

“I will be on Joe Rogan’s podcast Friday,” she wrote.

On Tuesday, May 29, President of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey announced that the successful and wildly popular revival of the ’80s and ’90s sitcom had been cancelled in response to Barr’s comments.

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” Dungey said in the statement.

Earlier that day, Barr had likened Jarrett, who was born to American parents in Shiraz, Iran, to a Planet of the Apes character.

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=[Valerie Jarrett],” the tweet read.

Following immediate backlash, which also came from her co-workers, Barr deleted the tweet and attempted to defend it as a joke, writing “ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.”

She later apologized in a series of two tweets, writing “I apologize. I am now leaving Twitter,” which was followed by “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.”

Ahead of ABC’s announcement that the series had been canceled, Wanda Sykes, who worked as a consulting producer on the series, announced that she would not be returning for the previously announced second season. While she did not offer an explanation for her departure, many speculated that it came as a direct result of Barr’s comments.

Sykes’ departure followed the departure of showrunner Whitney Cummings, who announced earlier in May that she would not return for the series’ season 11.

The classic sitcom revival, which pulled in record ratings, quickly earned an accolade for being politically charged, something that many believed was a result of Barr. However, Dungey reported that the revival’s second season, the series’ 11th total season, would shift focus away from politics and instead emphasize family.