The 65-year-old comedian took to Twitter again on Wednesday, attempting to explain her racist tweet that led to the cancellation of her ABC sitcom, 'Roseanne.'
Roseanne Barr is continuing to defend herself.
The 65-year-old comedian took to Twitter again on Wednesday, attempting to explain the racist remark she made about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett this week that led to the cancellation of her ABC sitcom, Roseanne.
"I'm not a racist, I never was & I never will be," Barr wrote. "One stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting 4 civil rights 4 all minorities, against networks, studios, at the expense of my nervous system/family/wealth will NEVER b taken from me."
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Ben Sherwood, President of Disney-ABC Television Group, sent a company memo to the now-unemployed staff of Roseanne, which was titled "Our Values" and obtained by ET:
"Team: Much has been said and written about yesterday’s decision to cancel the Roseanne show. In the end, it came down to doing what’s right and upholding our values of inclusion, tolerance, and civility.
Not enough, however, has been said about the many men and women who poured their hearts and lives into the show and were just getting started on next season. We’re so sorry they were swept up in all of this and we give thanks for their remarkable talents, wish them well, and hope to find another way to work together down the road.
The last 24 hours have also been a powerful reminder of the importance of words in everything we do – online and on the air. And the responsibility of using social media – and all of our programs and platforms - with careful thought, decency and consideration.
Today we move forward, together, full speed. Ben."
Sherwood's statement and Barr's latest tweet comes shortly after the actress claimed she was tweeting under the influence of Ambien. She says the prescription sleep aid is what led her to post the controversial remark, which read "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj," referring to Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran. It has since been deleted.
"Guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me," Barr tweeted Tuesday night. "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."
In another series of tweets, Barr also told her followers not to "defend" her. "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," she said. "I'm not a racist, just an idiot who made a bad joke."
Following Barr's Twitter rant, Sanofi, the pharmaceutical company behind Ambien, released their own statement via Twitter, which reads, "People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication."
Barr has been facing major backlash since posting the racially charged tweet earlier this week. In addition to ABC pulling the plug on Roseanne, she was also dropped by her agency, ICM, on Tuesday and slammed by her co-stars.
For more on the ongoing controversy, watch the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
