Roseanne Blames Ambien for Her Racist Tweet, Asks Fans Not to Boycott ABC

Just a few hours after her show Roseanne was canceled, Roseanne Barr returned to Twitter to try to blame the racist joke she made about Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett on the sleeping drug Ambien.

"Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!! I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people,and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet," she wrote. "Guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was Ambien tweeting — it was memorial day too — I went [too] far and do not want it defended. It was egregious Indefensible [sic]. I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but… don’t defend it please."

https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001675404468457472

She went on to directly apologize to Valerie, adding "@ValerieJarrett I want to apologize to you. I am very sorry to have hurt you. I hope you can accept this sincere apology!" Valerie also responded to the controversy, calling Roseanne's comments a teaching moment. "I'm fine. I'm worried about all the people out there who don't have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense," she said on MSNBC. "The person who is walking down the street minding their own business and they see somebody cling to their purse, or run across the street, or every black parent I know who has a boy who has to sit down and have a conversation — the talk — as we call it. As you say, those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day."

Just a few hours after Roseanne blamed Ambien for her racist Twitter rant, a rep for the sleep medication brand told TMZ, "People of all races, religions, and nationalities work at [pharmaceutical company] 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."

What was Roseanne Barr's original tweet?

On Monday, May 28, Roseanne compared Valerie, a black woman, to an ape in response to a conspiracy theory about the Obama administration. "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj," she wrote, using Valerie's initials. The next day, despite deleting the tweet and attempting to apologize, her show was canceled, with ABC releasing the following statement: "Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Her co-stars also spoke out against the comedian, with her on-screen daughter Sara Gilbert condemning her remarks. "Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least," she wrote. "This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love— one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member."

Roseanne, 65, was also quickly dropped by her talent agency. "What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency. Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her," ICM Partners stated in an internal memo, according to Deadline.

While there are still some fans supporting Roseanne, she takes full responsibility for her actions and does not blame ABC for their decision to cancel her show, which was the highest-rated scripted series of the season. "Please don’t start all of that boycott ABC stuff," she continued. "I’m not a censor and they have the right to do what they wish. It’ all ok. Thanks tho guys!"