Two days after the cancellation of rebooted sitcom Roseanne, the majority of the cast has spoken out.
The more senior members of the show’s cast, like John Goodman (Dan) and Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), have been silent up until now about Roseanne Barr‘s tweet. While Metcalf still hasn’t said anything publicly, Goodman finally broke his silence on Wednesday night, but he was cautious when addressing the controversy.
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He denied any in-depth knowledge of the Twitter incident, in which Barr tweeted a comment (now deleted) about former president Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. (It can be seen in a screengrab, below.)
The tweet was widely considered racist since Jarrett is an African-American woman and Barr made a comparison to an ape. The assertion that Jarrett has a connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, which she does not, also sparked intense anger on social media.
“I don’t know anything about it. I don’t read it,” said Goodman. “You’ve heard more than I have.”
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One of the first cast members to speak out against Barr’s tweet and online behaviour was her TV daughter, Sara Gilbert, who played the acerbic Darlene. Gilbert was also a producer of the show and was arguably the only character on the show to rival Barr’s screentime.
After replying with a “Wow! unreal” tweet, Barr went on to say that she understands Gilbert’s position and “why she said what she said.”
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“I forgive her,” Barr tweeted. “It just shocked me a bit, but I indeed f**ked up.”
“I feel devastated, not for the end of the Roseanne show, but for all those who poured their hearts and souls into our jobs, and the audience that welcomed us into their homes,” he wrote.
Barr seemed personally hurt by Fishman’s comments. She, Gilbert and Fishman have known each other since Roseanne premiered in 1989. Back then, Gilbert was almost a teenager and Fishman was only eight years old.
On Thursday afternoon, Barr tweeted specifically to Fishman and Gilbert, and then apologized again.
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1002273759565246464
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1002273279657181184
Lecy Goranson, who played Barr’s other daughter, Becky, made a comment on the show’s cancellation, saying she is “devastated” by it. (She has a private Twitter account, so this is a screengrab.)
For her part, Barr has not stopped tweeting since the incident, even though she had previously said she was “leaving” Twitter.
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In one of her latest tweets, she seemed especially upset about Metcalf and Goodman’s loss of work.
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1002003015308587008
People magazine reports that Barr is “in deep darkness and is very remorseful” following Roseanne‘s abrupt cancellation.
“Being a comedian, she writes stuff she thinks is funny, but it’s always misunderstood. She’s not intentionally hurtful,” said the magazine’s unnamed source. “They all loved each other on the Roseanne set. It really was one big happy family.”
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