Two days after ABC canceled Roseanne in response to a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Roseanne Barr called in for a May 31 podcast interview with New Jersey-based Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
A longtime friend and spiritual adviser to Barr, the disgraced comedian reportedly called in to his show to express her sorrow about the tweet where she said Jarrett was the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.
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During the interview, sources told The Hollywood Reporter, Barr even lapsed into tears.
“She was sobbing and very apologetic about the whole thing,” one source said.
Despite numerous Twitter rants since the scandal, Barr has not given a formal interview on the subject and has been secured in her home in Utah. The comedian was supposed to make an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast Friday, but the interview was canceled last minute.
“She’s not doing well and doesn’t want to travel, and she’s gone radio silent on me, so I’m just going to step away,” Rogan said.
Rabbi Shmuley, who has reportedly been friends with Barr for 20 years, is one of the most controversial rabbis in America, a vocal opponent of gay marriage and at-times supporter of President Donald Trump.
The rabbi declined to comment to THR on the podcast or on Barr’s recent controversy. He would not comment on when, or if, he will be posting the interview.
On the other hand, ABC has been scrambling to decide whether to continue the Roseanne franchise without its star in a third reboot.
The network reportedly set meetings with producers to come up with a potential spinoff for the series. One of the ideas is a show focused on Barr’s on-screen daughter Darlene, played by Sara Gilbert.
However, keeping Roseanne going without Barr will not be easy as the series was created by Matt Williams and based on characters created by Barr. That could make a spinoff difficult, as it’s not clear if Roseanne Conner is the only character Barr created.
Series stars Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman are still set to be paid for the now-scrapped 13-episode 11th season.
They will reportedly be paid around $15 million altogether, whether a single episode is made or not. Metcalf and Goodman are rumored to be open to the idea of a spinoff, as long as the idea is right for the show.
Barr’s ex-husband Tom Arnold previously spoke out and said that the cancellation could cost ABC $1 billion in lost ad revenue in sales, meaning this Darlene-inspired spinoff might have a great chance of becoming a reality.
