Roseanne Barr has condemned ABC\u2019s decision to restore \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d after a brief suspension, calling the network\u2019s handling of the late-night host a \u201cdouble standard\u201d compared with the 2018 cancellation of her rebooted sitcom following a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.<\/p>\n
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Barr said: \u201cI got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness, all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity\u2026 It just shows how they think. It\u2019s a double standard.\u201d She contrasted her firing with Kimmel\u2019s reinstatement six days after Disney, ABC\u2019s parent, pulled his show over remarks tied to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n
Barr, 72, spoke as ABC moved Kimmel back onto its schedule for Tuesday night, a week after the company paused production \u201cto avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,\u201d saying some of Kimmel\u2019s comments were \u201cill-timed and thus insensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,\u201d Disney said. Kimmel opened his comeback broadcast by insisting he had not intended to make light of Kirk\u2019s killing and by criticizing what he called government intimidation of broadcasters. \u201cSilencing comedians is anti-American,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Barr\u2019s complaint turns on ABC\u2019s response to her May 2018 tweet in which she described Jarrett as the product of the \u201cMuslim brotherhood & planet of the apes,\u201d a post the network called \u201cabhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values\u201d as it canceled the then-top-rated \u201cRoseanne\u201d revival the same day.<\/p>\n
Barr apologized and deleted the tweet but was removed from the series, which returned in the autumn as spinoff \u201cThe Conners\u201d without her. \u201cI\u2019ve been called a racist for all time,\u201d Barr said this week, arguing that ABC\u2019s quick reversal for Kimmel underscored unequal treatment.<\/p>\n
In her interview, Barr also pointed to Kimmel\u2019s past use of blackface in comedy sketches as evidence that ABC applies inconsistent standards, noting that he \u201cappeared in blackface\u2026 many times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kimmel apologized in 2020 for wearing makeup to impersonate NBA star Karl Malone and other Black figures during radio and television bits in the 1990s, calling those performances \u201cembarrassing\u201d and adding, \u201cI apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kimmel has said he did not intend to mock Kirk\u2019s death or assign blame to any group, and on Tuesday night accused officials of trying to pressure broadcasters and affiliates to keep him off the air.<\/p>\n
The Guardian reported that he told viewers his suspension followed \u201cgovernment threats\u201d and that attempts to remove him from television amounted to political bullying. Disney\u2019s decision to reinstate the show did not resolve a dispute with major station owners: Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group said they would continue to pre-empt Kimmel on their ABC affiliates, leaving large parts of the country without the program even as it returned on ABC\u2019s owned stations and streaming platforms.<\/p>\n
Barr framed the episode in personal terms, contrasting Kimmel\u2019s brief hiatus with her permanent removal seven years ago. \u201cI got my whole life ruined,\u201d she told NewsNation, a line repeated in multiple entertainment reports on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
She argued that network allies rally to protect favored personalities while condemning others, and she criticized ABC figures beyond Kimmel, citing older controversies involving on-air costume choices. Page Six and Entertainment Weekly summarized her comments and said Barr reiterated her longstanding claim that she had believed Jarrett was white when she wrote the 2018 tweet, a contention ABC rejected when it canceled the show.<\/p>\n
The late-night host\u2019s return followed a campaign by entertainers and advocacy groups who said the pause set a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n
The American Civil Liberties Union published an open letter signed by more than 400 artists warning of a \u201cdark moment for freedom of speech,\u201d and urged Disney to restore the show after what the organization called unconstitutional threats against broadcasters. Reuters reported that Disney said on Monday the show would be back on the air Tuesday, six days after the suspension.<\/p>\n