Roseanne Barr has blamed former co-star Sara Gilbert for the cancellation of the Roseanne reboot.
Originally airing from 1988 to 1997, the hit sitcom returned in 2018 for a revival season starring Barr once again.
The reboot was renewed for a second outing, but months later, ABC abruptly pulled the plug on the reboot.
The cancellation came after Barr tweeted racist remarks about former US President Barack Obama’s presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, prompting outrage on social media.
Producer Wanda Skyes tweeted that she would not be returning to the show, while actor Gilbert condemned Barr’s “abhorrent” comments. ABC cancelled the series that same day.
In a new interview, Barr admitted that she was “floored” by Gilbert’s response to the controversy, ultimately blaming her for the show’s cancellation.
“It was [Gilbert’s] tweet that cancelled the show,” Barr claimed while appearing on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, adding that Gilbert “repeatedly twisted [the knife]”.
“After she begged me to come back, saying, ‘I’ve got your back this time, I won’t let anyone at you, I won’t let anyone hurt you, I’m gonna protect you. I know you have mental health problems, but I’m going to be there, I’m gonna stand in the way.’ This is all the crap she told me,” said the 70-year-old.
“It wasn’t enough that she stabbed me in the back, and did what she did to me there, but then she would go on her talk show every day and talk about how shocked she was at my racism on top of it.
“It was every day, and I had done that show when she needed a guest,” she continued. “I called her up and I said, just like this, ‘You better shut your blanking mouth about me. I’m telling you, you better shut your f***ing mouth.’ And then she did.”
The Independent has contacted Gilbert’s representative for comment.
While ABC cancelled Roseanne, they later announced that a spin-off, titled The Connors, would air in its place.
The series featured all of the original cast except Barr, with the first episode featuring an explanation that the character of Roseanne had died off-screen. Gilbert serves as an executive producer for the spin-off.
In 2018, amid the backlash, Barr claimed Gilbert and other co-stars were throwing her “under the bus” with their reactions to her original tweet.
She then told the Washington Post in a later interview that Gilbert “destroyed the show and my life with that tweet”.
Gilbert played the daughter of Barr’s eponymous character throughout the entire original series and its 2018 revival.
