Roseanne Barr criticized ABC’s decision to reinstate Jimmy Kimmel after a brief suspension, calling it a “double standard” compared to her own permanent cancellation from the network in 2018.
“I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness and all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone,” Barr tells NewsNation. “It just shows how they think. It’s a double standard.”
Barr’s experience with ABC ended abruptly in May 2018 when the network canceled her rebooted sitcom “Roseanne” after she tweeted that former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett was a product of the “Muslim Brotherhood” and “Planet of the Apes.”
Not sure how to find us? Here’s how to watch NewsNation on TV and online.
Her show had been ABC’s most-watched series that season before its cancellation.
“I apologize. I am now leaving Twitter,” Barr wrote. A few minutes later, she tweeted, “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”
Roseanne Barr predicts Kimmel will ‘double down’ rather than apologize
Barr tells NewsNation that Kimmel will “double down” rather than apologize for his remarks that resulted in the temporary suspension of his show.
“I think he’ll cheer himself on and his fans, all what is it, 2,000 of them. They’ll feel heartened and, you know, like they won another battle against Trump and the people of the United States,” Barr tells NewsNation. “So it’ll be a big celebration. ‘Oh, he’s back,’ and he’ll double down.”
Jimmy Kimmel makes first public comment ahead of show’s return
The Walt Disney Company announced Monday it was resuming production of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday after suspending the late-night talk show last week over what the company called “ill-timed and insensitive” comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Roseanne Barr: ABC protects lowest-rated shows
Barr compared Kimmel’s situation to other ABC personalities who faced temporary suspensions, including Whoopi Goldberg, who received a two-week suspension for Holocaust-related comments on “The View.”
The comedian accused ABC of protecting “their lowest rated shows for their shareholders and destroy their highest rated shows for their shareholders.”
Barr also criticized Kimmel for previously calling her racist while noting that he had appeared in blackface on television. Kimmel had issued an apology for it.
Roseanne Barr says she was ‘erased from history’ after show cancellation
Barr said she has been systematically removed from recognition of her contributions to entertainment and women’s rights.
“I’ve been erased from history, from the history of feminism, which that cracks me up,” she said. “I’m never mentioned in anything about women who are pioneers in media. I’m never mentioned in anything anymore.”
She added that people whose careers she helped launch no longer acknowledge her, “especially when they talk about censorship, which that cracks me up.”
Food Network axes trio of long-delayed shows
Barr praised NewsNation’s parent company, Nexstar, for its decision to continue to preempt Kimmel’s show.
“I just love independent media. They’ve broken away from the big, you know, how can I say this? They decentralized information, and that’s what America wants and needs,” Barr said.
What did Jimmy Kimmel say?
During his show that got him suspended, Kimmel said the country “hit some new lows over the weekend,” when the “MAGA gang desperately tried to characterize this kid who killed Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
The 57-year-old comedian, who has had a late-night show on ABC since 2003, accused Republicans of trying to “score political points” from Kirk’s death.
Kimmel then criticized President Donald Trump after airing a video of the president taking a question about Kirk’s death. In the clip, Trump abruptly changes the subject to talk about a planned White House ballroom. Kimmel joked Trump was mourning Charlie Kirk “the way a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”
Kirk, a 31-year-old Trump ally, was killed during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, as he debated students with different political views. After a 33-hour manhunt, authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for the attack.
Over 400 celebrities signed an open letter decrying Kimmel’s late-night show and calling for an end to “retaliation” against free speech, writing that it “strike[s] at the heart of what it means to live in a free country.”
Kimmel, who has been hosting the show since 2003, is in the final year of a contract that ends May 2026.
