Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Roseanne Barr Breaks Her Silence After Show's Cancellation, Claims She Was 'Ambien Tweeting'

Roseanne Barr returned to Twitter after the cancellation of her ABC show Roseanne.

The 65-year-old actress previously said she quit Twitter after she received backlash for a racist tweet she wrote Monday night about former Barack Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. But late Tuesday night the star went on yet another Twitter spree, blaming her racist Tweet on using the prescription insomia drug Ambien.

“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. “I will be on Joe Rogan’s podcast friday.”

“Guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting-it was memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible . I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it please,” she also tweeted.

Barr also retweeted plenty of her supporters with a vengeance, many of who defended her.

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She added, “hey guys, don’t defend me, it’s sweet of you 2 try, but…losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweet-that I regret even more.”

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In a now-deleted tweet, Barr also wrote an apology to Jarrett, writing, “@ValerieJarrett I want to apologize to you. I am very sorry to have hurt you. I hope you can accept this sincere apology!”

The actress also claimed she was “ambien tweeting” on Monday when she made the attack on Jarrett, tweeting, “guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me.”

“It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien-tweeting-it was memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible,” she wrote. “I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but… don’t defend it please. ty.”

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Barr retweeted a follower who wrote, “I’m calling on @ABCNetwork @Disney to uphold their “standards” by firing @JoyVBehar for calling Christians mentally ill. You can’t treat @therealroseanne one way because she supports @realDonaldTrump & allow Joy Behar to remain employed. #BoycottABC #StandWithRoseanne #Roseanne.”

Barr tweeted, “Please don’t start all of that boycott abc stuff-I’m not a censor and they have the right to do what they wish. It’ all ok. thanks tho guys!”

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A rep for ABC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

On Monday, the actress shared a since-deleted attack Jarrett, who is black, comparing her to an ape.

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj,” she wrote, using Jarrett’s initials in response to a tweeted conspiracy theory about the Obama administration.

However, while the actress tweeted to her supporters to not defend her she went on to retweet numerous tweets, many of which were controversial or racist, from fans defender her

Barr retweeted another supporter who wrote, “I look like a monkey. Why? My DNA is 96% similar to a monkey’s. It makes scientific sense. But due to emotions, double standards & feelings science is cancelled this year. There are 5,000 genders & if you don’t agree with me you’re a racist xenophobe.”

She also retweeted a doctored photo of The View cohost Whoopi Goldberg allegedly wearing a T-shirt depicting a gun to President Donald Trump’s head.

In reality, Goldberg was wearing a black T-shirt with the words, “And you thought I was a nasty woman before? Buckle up. Buttercup.”

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The comedian also shared a doctored photo that a user claimed came from Jarrett’s yearbook. The fake photo alleges Jarrett was born Iranian and that she sought to make the U.S. “a more Islamic country.”

Jarett was born in Iran to American parents, and her family moved to London, England when she was 5. After a year in the U.K., her parents moved their family to Chicago, Illinois.

After another supporter said that they did not think Barr was a racist because she did not know Jarrett’s race, Barr commented “I thought she was Saudi.”

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” president of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey announced in a statement Tuesday.

Roseanne was the no. 1 scripted series of the season with a 6.4 rating in the key demo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Wrap reports that Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT have pulled all reruns, too.

Barr also attacked Chelsea Clinton, tweeting a since-deleted lie that “she’s married to soros nephew,” referring to billionaire George Soros.

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Sara Gilbert publicly denounced her costar, and several other celebrities called on the ABC to cancel the show.

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“Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show,” Gilbert tweeted on Tuesday. “I am disappointed in her actions to say the least.”

“This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love — one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member,” she added.

Jarrett weighed in on the shocking language for the first time during an MSNBC town hall called “Everyday Racism in America” that aired just hours after Barr referred to Jarrett as an “ape” on Twitter.

“First of all, I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment,” Jarrett said. “I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers coming to their defense.”

Jarrett also said she thought ABC made the right decision in canceling Barr’s revival sitcom, Roseanne, on Tuesday, amid severe blowback over the star’s comments.

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The former Obama advisor added that Bob Iger, the chief executive officer of Disney, which owns ABC, called her ahead of the cancellation announcement to apologize.

“He wanted me to know before he made it public that he was canceling the show,” she said, adding that Iger told her there would be zero tolerance for those types of comments.



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