Dictionary.com Shades Roseanne Barr With Definition of Ambient: Not 'Prone to Making Racist Comments'

Dictionary.com is throwing shade at Roseanne Barr and her claims that Ambien resulted in her [...]

By Allison Schonter

Dictionary.com is throwing shade at Roseanne Barr and her claims that Ambien resulted in her racially insensitive tweet that led to ABC's cancellation of Roseanne.

Dictionary.com's Twitter account, an account that has long been known for their sly comebacks in the form of literal dictionary definitions, has contradicted Barr's claims that "Ambien tweeting" led to her comparison of former Obama aide Valerie Jarrette to a Planet of the Apes character.

"The name Ambien is thought to come from the word 'ambient' or similar words in French. Ambient does not mean 'prone to making racist comments,' but it does mean 'of the surrounding area or environment,'" the website's Twitter account wrote.

Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment, announced the cancellation of the network's Roseanne revival series just hours after Barr's "abhorrent, repugnant" twitter statements.

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(Photo: Twitter / @therealroseanne)

She later followed that tweet by stating "Muslims r NOT a race" and "ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people."

The racially charged tweets and the sitcom's cancellation quickly made headlines and made the rounds on social media, with everyone form Disney CEO Bob Iger to President Donald Trump weighing in on the news.

The Dictionary.com Twitter account also provided an alternative word choice for news outlets to use, as many publications chose to refer to Barr's tweets as "offensive," bizarre," and "racially charge.

"Bizarre is one word to describe Roseanne's comments about Valerie Jarrett, or you could just use this one," Dictionary.com tweeted, providing a link to its definition of "racist."

Following the backlash she faced, Barr returned to Twitter Tuesday night to apologize, claiming that she "went too far" and that her statements were "egregious [and] indefensible." She added that she "made a mistake I wish I hadn't but...don't defend it please."

Barr also offered an explanation for her statements, writing in a now deleted tweet that she was "Ambien tweeting" at 2 in the morning, and "It was Memorial Day too."

Her comment, which seemingly placed the blame on Ambien, was immediately met with skepticism, with Ambien-maker Sanofi offering their own opinion on the claim.

"People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication," they tweeted.

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