Roseanne on Supporting President Trump: ‘I Wanted to Show an Accurate Depiction of Our Country’

Roseanne Barr appeared on several talk shows to promote the return of Roseanne on Tuesday night, and in the process she was asked about the decision to represent her character as a Trump voter.

Barr appeared on The View on Tuesday morning, discussing her sitcom’s comeback with the cast. The reboot has been highly politicized since early looks revealed that the Conner family matriarch was had voted for President Donald Trump on the show, and that the current political climate would be a big plot point. Joy Behar, one of The View‘s co-hosts, asked Barr about that decision.

“On the show you voted for Trump.” Barr nodded at this. “What was the thinking behind that?”

“Well, I wanted to show an accurate depiction of our country, you know?” Barr replied. “People are really — I know so many families that are divided over the election, still, and they still are fighting and stuff. We wanted to show that, and how our family deals with it, and we all have the hope that people will start talking to each other again, because that’s what we need.”

Roseanne is one of the most hotly anticipated television revivals in recent years. Many fans are excited precisely because the show has promised to show a dimensionalized depiction of conservative voters on screen. For better or for worse, the pro-Trump politics have become impossible to separate from the show’s comeback.

Barr did an interview with Howard Stern and one with Sandra Bernhard on Tuesday to stir up excitement for the revival’s premiere. Meanwhile, Sara Gilbert, who plays Darlene, appeared on Late Night with Stephen Colbert on Monday evening.

“This was your idea, to bring back Roseanne, right?” Colbert asked.

“It was,” Gilbert confirmed. She also admitted that signing Barr herself up for the reboot was harder than any of the other cast members.

“Well, when I spoke with Roseanne, she was the only one who sort of hesitated for a second, because there had sort of been some drama the first time around,” Gilbert said. She proceeded to joke about mediating the forces of the studio against Barr’s creative will.

“No, but honestly, luckily, there really wasn’t. It was such an incredible experience, and I’m not just saying that because I’m on a talk show.”

Season 10 of Roseanne premieres on ABC at 8 p.m.