Roseanne Barr is still quite angry about about being fired from her show, and now specifically blames former co-star Sara Gilbert for her downfall. Regardless of one’s opinion concerning Barr herself, there’s no doubt that Roseanne is a deservedly iconic sitcom, and worthy of inclusion in any hypothetical TV show hall of fame. Running for nearly a decade, Roseanne was one of the defining comedies of the 1990s, and cast a welcome focus on a family of working class people that struggled with everyday issues.
In the current age of remakes, revivals, and sequels to classic TV shows, it wasn’t too surprising when talk got around to bringing back Roseanne. Of course, the biggest wild card coming into ABC’s Roseanne revival was the titular lead actress herself. Barr’s politics had taken a hard right turn in the time since her show ended, going from vocal liberal firebrand to stalwart supporter of Republican candidate (and ultimately president) Donald Trump. While she’s certainly entitled to her opinions, Barr had also developed a reputation for engaging in fiery and antagonistic pro-Trump rhetoric on Twitter, and most dangerously, sharing and promoting various conspiracy theories.
With that in mind, any TV network going into business with Barr had to know full well what they were getting into. It’s hard to believe ABC executives didn’t foresee a scenario in which Barr unleashed a racist remark on Twitter, and sure enough, that infamously happened. Whether they anticipated it or not, ABC wasted no time in firing Barr, and canceling Roseanne, which had just recently been renewed for another season. Barr has since blamed multiple culprits for her behavior, including Ambien, anti-Trump forces in Hollywood, and at one point, her co-stars for “throwing her under the bus.” Now, as part of a new interview with The Washington Post, Barr has set her sights on one particular person she blames for her career spiraling downward: onscreen daughter Sara Gilbert.
Based on her own words, Barr seems to believe that at the point Gilbert sent out her Tweet condemning Barr’s actions, there was still a chance of salvaging the Roseanne revival. To be fair, ABC’s cancellation announcement did follow Gilbert’s Tweet very closely. That said, the idea that Gilbert weighing in is what ultimately made ABC - and parent company Disney - decide to cancel a top-level moneymaker like Roseanne is a huge stretch. It recalls Barr’s prior insistence that she was fired due to her support of Trump, when she was already a vocal Trump supporter prior to ABC greenlighting the revival, a similar stretching of logic. For her part, Gilbert told The Washington Post: “While I’m extremely disappointed and heartbroken over the dissolution of the original show, she will always be family, and I will always love Roseanne.”
She destroyed the show and my life with that tweet. She will never get enough until she consumes my liver with a fine Chianti.
While Barr recently returned to stand-up, and remains active on the conservative political talk scene, it’s still unclear if her mainstream acting career will eventually recover. People have certainly come back from doing worse. That said, Barr’s continued refusal to accept full personal responsibility for what happened to her - she’s expressed remorse publicly several times, but always ends up backtracking later - is only likely to delay any possible moment of redemption career-wise. In the meantime, ABC just renewed Roseanne-less spinoff The Conners for season 2.
More: What To Expect From The Conners Season 2
Source: The Washington Post
