Roseanne Barr Calls Michael Fishman A Brainwashed Bigot

Roseanne Barr is launching a sharp counterattack against her former co-star, labeling him a brainwashed bigot. On the Can't Be Censored podcast recently, the 73-year-old comedian took aim at Michael Fishman after he claimed the 2018 reboot of Roseanne was rightfully canceled. She told him he does not know what she said despite her explaining it ten thousand times over nine years on the internet. Barr stated that Fishman has refused to listen because he is a bigot and a brainwashed one.

The revival of the hit nineties show found great success when it premiered in March 2018, yet ABC canceled it just two months later after Barr tweeted an offensive remark about Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Obama. Although Barr apologized for the comment multiple times, the network fired her and ended the series. A month afterward, ABC launched a new spin-off called The Connors that brought back most of the original cast without any involvement from Barr.

Barr recalled telling Fishman to go to hell after he asked about her comments roughly nine thousand times. She said she told him to shut up and not put her name in his mouth. She called him an ignoramus and a bigot who lacks geopolitical context for what she said because it contradicts the Democratic Party platform that has been shoved down his throat.

Laurie Metcalf, who played Barr's sister Jackie Harris on the show, told The New Yorker recently that the two actresses have not spoken since saying goodbye at the end of the reboot. In an interview with Fox News Digital in June 2025, Barr confirmed she has not kept in touch with any former co-stars. She said they are all in the past and she holds no bitterness toward them, though she wishes them well despite their greed and ridiculous stupidity ruining what was fun.

When The Connors returned, the network explained her absence by saying her character died off-screen. In her documentary Roseanne Barr is America, the comedian revealed she turned down an offer to guest star on the show because they wanted her back as a ghost. She asked how they could want her to appear on the show they stole from her and killed, only now wanting ratings while she plays a spirit.