Roseanne Barr blames health issues for controversial behaviour

Actress and comedian was fired over a tweet where she compared Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett to an ape

Roseanne Barr has once again blamed her health issues on recent behaviour which includes a controversial tweet which got her fired from ABC’s show Roseanne, where she compared Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett to an ape.

Speaking with Fox’s Sean Hannity in the second part of an interview - the first part of which aired on 26 July - Barr went through a range of excuses for her recent behaviour, including a moment where she discussed having dissociative identity disorder, explaining that she believed it had flared up during her promotion of the Roseanne reboot.

“It was scary, Sean. I told ABC that I don't feel like I'm in a good mentally balanced place,” she said. "I'd been working for many weeks, going on promotion... I became Ambien dependent."

Barr went onto say she would wake up finding Triscuits and cheese laid out in her kitchen that she couldn't remember eating, and see eggs cracked on the wall from "where I'd tried to make brownies".

In an earlier segment of the interview, she also reiterated her recent claim that she did not know Jarrett's race when she tweeted about the former Obama aide.

“Her skin tone is like mine,” she told Hannity. “I didn't know that she was African-American.” Barr also said she thought Jarrett, who was born in Iran, was Iranian.

Hannity appeared sceptical when Barr claimed her original tweet was a criticism of the Obama administration's Iran policy and questioned why she “didn’t know better” after writing the comment.

“I didn’t [know better]. I made a mistake. It cost me everything, my life’s work. I wish I worded it better,” Barr said, reiterating that she’s “apologised, explained and asked for forgiveness.”

In response to her claim, the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi, commented: “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

When Hannity asked her what was next for her, Barr joked: “Porn.” Then, in a more serious tone, she added: “I'm just loving doing stuff in my own studio. I do want to go back on tour and do my standup... I have a really diverse audience of fans and I'm really proud of that.”

In a Youtube video posted on 19 July, Barr claimed that the offending Tweet about Jarrett was not the reason she was fired by ABC, instead blaming her outspoken support of Trump. She has also claimed that she initially thought Jarrett was a white woman.

ABC previously issued a statement regarding her tweet, reading: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”

Barr has said she “horribly regretted” sending out the tweet, but recently acknowledged she had been offered “many things” since being fired. “I almost already accepted one really good offer to go back on TV and I might do it,” she added. “But we’ll see.”

Roseanne’s first episode was watched live by over 18 million viewers, AMC’s highest-rated and most watched series this year, leading to the show being immediately renewed. The network has since begun work on the Roseanne spin-off The Conners, which will feature all the main cast minus Barr.