Roseanne Barr was a controversial figure even before her dismissal from her revival series and earned a reputation for saying things that might raise some eyebrows. So when Barr went viral recently for comments that seemingly denied the Holocaust and called for the death of Jewish people, she was called out by many. In the midst of that, comedian Theo Von, the host of the podcast on which Barr made the statements, came to her defense.
Theo Von welcomed Roseanne Barr on his podcast This Past Weekend, where the duo discussed a wide variety of topics. A clip from the conversation went viral where Barr denied that the 2020 election was rigged and said that anyone who questions that is immediately de-platformed online. She then added that the Holocaust didn't happen either and that six million Jewish people weren't killed but should be. The comments, seemingly, were meant to claim that not being allowed to suggest the facts of the election without penalty was as damaging as making harmful statements about the Holocaust.
Roseanne Barr's comparison to the Holocaust, as well as other parts of the clip, made some angry on social media. Von defended Barr on Twitter, however, by saying the viral moment was taken out of context:
This Roseanne Barr clip was sarcasm folks. A clip taken out of a long sarcastic rant she had during our chat. Can we not recognize sarcasm anymore?
Theo Von, who has caught on like wildfire on platforms like TikTok and Instagram with his storytelling and style of humor, came to Roseanne Barr's defense to clarify the context to the clip. There are past instances in which Barr said something that fans could question, but Von said these latest statements were not meant to be taken literally.
To prove that point, Theo Von uploaded the full video of the segment in which he and Barr were speaking. Readers can check out the full video below, which includes the controversial Holocaust statement, and see what Von called an obvious use of "sarcasm and satire."
Here is the full clip of Roseanne Barr obviously using sarcasm and satire. She is a mensch and one of the funniest people i've ever met. pic.twitter.com/p0K6pWEqr8June 27, 2023
This isn't Roseanne Barr's first time at the center of controversy by far. She caused outrage decades ago when she dressed up as Hitler and did a photoshoot of her cooking gingerbread men in an oven. Barr has since said she did the stunt in the name of satire, and the photos appeared in a satirical Jewish magazine Heeb (via HeebMagazine.com). That past controversy was likely in the minds of a few when this latest clip made its rounds.
Despite her controversies, Roseanne Barr has managed to still find support from comedians like Theo Von, and even her former co-star John Goodman. Goodman recently talked about missing Barr and wished her well.
Anyone with a Netflix subscription can check out more of Theo Von by looking up his stand-up special Regular People. As for Roseanne Barr, her latest comedy special, Cancel This!, is available to stream on Fox Nation. With the summer months upon us, now might be a great time to check out what stand-up is available on streaming. You can also find Roseanne streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
