The actress also asked fans not to defend her before thanking fans for defending her, and then retweeting numerous posts both defending and condemning her.
Roseanne Barr says that tweeting under the influence of the prescription sleep aid Ambien is what led to her post a racist remark that subsequently got her sitcom, 'Roseanne,' cancelled by ABC.
The 65-year-old actress and outspoken conservative spent much of Tuesday night half-apologizing for the remark, tweeting -- among many other things -- that the since-deleted racist comment was a "mistake" made late at night.
"Guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me," Barr wrote, after retweeted many fans who had been defending her. "It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweetin."
"It was Memorial Day too," she added. "I went too far and do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but...don't defend it please. Ty."
After tweeting that her sleep aide medication contributed to her racist remark, Sanofi -- the pharmaceutical company behind Ambien -- released their own statement on Twitter.
"People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world," reads the statement. "While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication."
ABC showrunner Shonda Rhimes also tweeted in response to Barr's Ambien allegation, writing: "Omg. I used to take Ambien! How many times was I racist in my sleep?! GIRL BYE. #ownyouractions"
Several minutes prior to her Ambien post, Barr shared a similar sentiment regarding her desire for fans not to stick up for her, despite the fact that she appreciates their efforts.
"Hey guys, don't defend me, it's sweet of you 2 try, but...losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweet-that I regret even more," Barr wrote.
Barr later thanked one of her fans for defending her, writing, "I'm not a racist, just an idiot who made a bad joke. thank you for defending me tho."
When a fan later tweeted at Barr, "We are defending your free speech and ours," Barr responded, "Thank u, but, it's over. I am moving on."
In between her new posts, Barr retweeted a flurry of comments that ran the gamut condemning her, to celebrating her downfall, to full-on supporting her.
Barr finally addressed her conflicting bevy of back-and-forth apologies, remarks and retweets, telling critics that, if they don't like what she has to say, they don't have to read her posts.
"I'm sorry 4 my tweet, AND I will also defend myself as well as talk to my followers. so, go away if u don't like it. I will handle my sadness the way I want to. I'm tired of being attacked & belittled more than other comedians who have said worse," Barr wrote, without specifying which comedians she was referring to.
Tuesday was a whirlwind of developments and controversies that all began when Barr tweeted a racist "joke" about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
"Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj," Barr wrote in a since-deleted tweet, referring to Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran. The comment sparked an immediate backlash and lead to ABC nixing the show's upcoming second revival season, which had already been picked up for 13 episodes and was set to begin production in August.
ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said in a statement later in the day, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show." ABC removed all references to the revival series on its press site and Viacom has pulled all re-runs of the sitcom's entire run from all of its channels.
After claiming she was going to leave Twitter Tuesday morning, Barr's very outspoken return later in the evening began with tweets apologizing to the show's "all liberal" writers and cast, and then two direct apologies tweeted at Jarrett.
For more on the on-going controversy, check out the video below.
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