Roseanne Barr Feels Misunderstood: Rant ‘Insensitive, Not Racist’

Roseanne Barr is sending mixed messages on social media, but sources say she appears deeply depressed in person.

Barr put her sitcom reboot to an end on Tuesday when she tweeted a racist conspiracy theory about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett. She has since apologized, stating that she was under the influence of Ambien when she made the post, but she has also retweeted numerous outlets defending her.

In reality, Barr is reportedly struggling with the development. Sources close to her told PEOPLE that she is not dealing with the sudden cancellation well.

“She’s in deep darkness and is very remorseful,” the insider said. “Being a comedian, she writes stuff she thinks is funny, but it’s always misunderstood. She’s not intentionally hurtful. They all loved each other on the Roseanne set. It really was one big happy family.”

On Twitter, Barr has declared her intention to “fight back” against her detractors. She has asked her followers to help her grow her platform and reach more people.

“You guys make me feel like fighting back.” she wrote. “I will examine all of my options carefully and get back to U.”

“Can you all help me get more followers here?” She added later. “The more I have the more my words will have weight. I am a fighter 4 FAiRNESS in all aspects of US life. I am tired of being smeared-over a stupid mistake erasing 30 yrs of activism.”

A Roseanne executive producer, Dave Kaplan, gave an extended interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, where he said that none of the writers or producers had heard from Barr.

“We haven’t heard from Roseanne at all, nor do I expect to,” he said. “The rest of the writers came in Tuesday as it was supposed to be the first day of work. Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen and I and the rest of the writers were together. But nobody has heard from Roseanne as far as I know.”

However, Kaplan echoed the sentiments of fellow executive producer Tom Werner, saying that he hopes Bar will “seeks the help she so clearly needs.”

Barr offered her apologies to the writers and the rest of the show’s employees on Twitter, though she deleted the post later on.

“Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!!-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,” Barr tweeted.