Comedian Roseanne Barr says ABC Television tried to get her to kill herself when they fired her from her network sitcom in 2018 after she made racist comments on Twitter.
He told the Los Angeles Times:
“When they killed off my character, that was a message to me, knowing that I was mentally ill or had mental health issues, that they wanted me to kill myself. They killed my character and person. And all this to thank you for bringing 28 million viewers, which they have never had before and will never see again. Because I can kiss my ass.
Barr called what she went through “a witch burn” and said, “They hated me so much … because I have talent, because I have an opinion.”
She also said that no one in Hollywood has paid such a high price as her.
“I’m the only person who has lost everything, whose work has been stolen, stolen from people who I thought loved me,” she told the paper. “And it was quiet. There was no one in Hollywood who stood up for me publicly, other than Mo’Nique, who is a brave, close and dear friend.”
“Roseanne,” one of the most successful shows of the late 80s and 90s, was picked up by ABC in 2018. Barr was fired and the show canceled after her racist tweet aimed at Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Barack Obama.
Barr later blamed the sleep medication Ambien for the tweet and insisted she thought Jarrett was white.
The show was adapted as “The Conners” to focus on the rest of the family, with Barr’s character written to have died of an opiate overdose.
“The Conners” remains on the show, but Barr told the Los Angeles Times that she hasn’t seen it and said those who continued with the spinoff “got rid of my contributions to television and the show itself.”
Barr has a comedy special called “Roseanne Barr: Cancel It!” debuts next week on Fox Nation, which he told the Times “is the most offensive stand-up I’ve ever had.”
Read the full interview, which is behind a paywall, here.
If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also get support via text message by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside the United States, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.
