Roseanne Barr has lashed out at Michael Fishman, her former on-screen son, after he defended the cancellation of the rebooted sitcom Roseanne.
Fishman played DJ Conner throughout the original nine-season run, which aired from 1988 to 1997. He returned for the revival in 2018, but the series was cancelled by ABC after two months following a controversial tweet by Barr about Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to Barack Obama.
Barr’s post, which referred to the “Muslim brotherhood” and “planet of the apes”, was widely condemned as comparing Jarrett, who is African-American, to an ape. Barr has since said she was referring instead to Jarrett’s role in brokering a nuclear deal with Iran and to her own nickname for the deal.
Speaking on the Can’t Be Censored podcast, Barr criticised Fishman for supporting ABC’s decision. “He f***ing doesn’t even f***ing know what I said, even though I’ve explained it 10,000 times for nine years on the internet,” she said.
“He hasn’t even taken the time to listen to what I say because he’s a bigot. And he’s a brainwashed bigot,” she claimed.
Fishman addressed renewed discussion of the cancellation in an Instagram video posted in August. “The brilliant comedians help us laugh at the darkest, darkest topics,” he said. “Sadly, in this case, there was no joke. And the show was rightfully cancelled. It’s the last time I’m really gonna go into this.”
Barr said Fishman had previously confronted her about the tweet. She claimed she told him to “keep my name out of your mouth” and accused him of misunderstanding her comments because they conflicted with his political views.
She also alleged that Fishman had “no geopolitical context” for criticising her remarks, saying he believed she had claimed that “Black people look like monkeys”.
After the cancellation, ABC created the spin-off The Conners, with Fishman reprising his role alongside John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert. Barr’s character, Roseanne Conner, was written out as having died from an accidental opioid overdose.
The spin-off ran until April 2025, broadcasting 93 episodes across seven seasons. Fishman was let go before the fifth season.
Barr referred to his departure during her attack, saying: “And I’m glad they fired you, because I was the only reason you were ever on that show.”
She added: “They wanted to get rid of you in the reboot, and I made them take you back. F*** you, you little f***ing putz.”
