Comedian Roseanne Barr on Friday released a video accusing ABC of firing her because she voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
In the 1:06-long clip published on YouTube, Barr touches on a handful of topics, including her racially charged tweet in which she compared former senior Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape and why she believes ABC fired her from massively successful Roseanne reboot.
“Hi, this is Roseanne Barr and I’d like to welcome you to my own studio, where I’m able to speak for myself to my fellow and sister Americans without the filter of the biased media,” Barr began. “This was my statement from the very beginning, and it will continue to be forever because it is the truth.
“When ABC called and asked me to explain my ‘egregious and unforgivable tweet,’ I told them I thought Valerie Jarrett was white. And I also said I am willing to go on The View, Jimmy Kimmel, or whatever other show you want me to go on and explain that to my audience,” the comedian continued.
Barr lamented Hollywood’s notorious double standard against conservative actors and actresses, noting ABC promptly canceled Roseanne before one sponsor bailed on the program because she supports Donald Trump. “Now, instead what happened was about 40 minutes after that my show was canceled before even one advertiser pulled out and I was labeled a racist,” she explained. Why, you ask? Well, the answer is simple. It’s because I voted for Donald Trump and that is not allowed in Hollywood,” Barr explained.
The 65-year-old later apologized for the inflammatory tweet about Jarrett, claiming that it was a “bad joke” and“in bad taste.” “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks,” Barr said. “I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”
ABC in June announced it ordered 10 episodes of a Conner family sitcom without Roseanne Barr scheduled to air this fall. In a statement issued by the show’s producer, Barr said she agreed to the settlement to save the jobs of 200 cast and crew members.
MORE: Full statement from @ABCNetwork…https://t.co/7NtiAFR3XV pic.twitter.com/b8CdP1NGso
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 22, 2018
“The Conners’ stories demonstrate that families can always find common ground through conversation, laughter and love. The spinoff will continue to portray contemporary issues that are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago,” ABC said in a statement. “We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”
Roseanne ended its rebooted season with a strong 2.4 rating with a /11 share with roughly 10.3 million viewers watching the Conners family discuss hot-button issue of illegal immigration.
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