Beleaguered sitcom star Roseanne Barr has hit out at ABC network chiefs after her comedy sitcom character was unceremoniously killed off via a “grim and morbid” opioid overdose.
Barr is famous for her turn as Roseanne Conner in the eponymously titled sitcom which first aired on ABC in 1988. The show was brought back for a revival earlier this year but an eleventh series was subsequently scrapped following racist remarks made by Barr about former White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett.
READ MORE: ‘Roseanne’ canceled after star’s racist tweets
The sitcom, about a family in middle America, was a ratings hit, with Roseanne Barr starring alongside John Goodman, who played her husband Dan Conner. But the Roseanne character has now been killed off in new show The Conners, which charts the family without Barr’s involvement.
Responding to her character’s demise, Barr described the death from opioid use as “grim,” “morbid” and unnecessary. Her statement coincided with a Twitter post from the actress, which stated: “I ain’t dead, bitches”.
“After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness,” Barr said about the final nail in her show’s coffin. “The cancellation of Roseanne is an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris, and a refusal to forgive.”
The character’s death, which was addressed at the beginning of The Conners debut episode, provoked a mixture of debate online. Some people labelled Roseanne’s off-screen death in the first seconds of the show as a “brutal” and “disgusting” way to punish the actor.
Others, however, backed the decision, saying Barr simply had to go because of her offensive comments.
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