Roseanne Barr's son, Jake Pentland, has alleged that the cast of the sitcom "Roseanne" conspired against his mother following her 2018 racist tweet about political advisor Valerie Jarrett, which led to the show's cancellation. Pentland stated in an interview with TMZ that while his mother's tweet was harmful, the cast allegedly took her remarks out of context and prevented her from defending herself.
Michael Fishman, Barr's former co-star on the show, recently spoke out about the incident, calling Barr's tweet "indefensible" and "dehumanizing." Fishman, who played D.J. Conner, addressed the controversy in an Instagram video, asserting that the show's reboot was "rightfully canceled." He refuted claims that the cancellation was due to "woke crap," emphasizing that Barr herself had called her comments indefensible.
Pentland countered Fishman's assessment, suggesting that his mother bore the brunt of the fallout. He claimed that castmates did not seek clarification on her remarks and allegedly barred her from public defense. "I wish him good luck in finding work one day. Hopefully selling the woman responsible for his career out was worth it for him," Pentland said of Fishman, implying his former co-star's statements were self-serving.
Barr's controversial tweet targeted Valerie Jarrett, an African-American advisor to former President Barack Obama, stating that Jarrett resembled "the Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby." The tweet sparked widespread condemnation.
Despite initially defending her remarks, Barr later apologized to Jarrett, calling it a "bad joke" and temporarily leaving Twitter. However, the apology did not prevent ABC from canceling the show, which had been the third highest-rated U.S. program that year.
Fishman reiterated in his video that "words have real world consequences" and that while he "loves" Barr and acknowledges that "good people make mistakes," her comment caused damage by perpetuating racial tropes. He argued that the only people "backstabbed" were those targeted by the statements and those who became collateral damage.
Following the cancellation of "Roseanne," ABC launched a spin-off series, "The Conners," which featured the original cast except for Barr. Her character was written out of the series via an opioid overdose. "The Conners" ran for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025.