In a recent interview, former sitcom star Roseanne Barr made explosive claims about her relationship with her “Roseanne” co-star Sara Gilbert, accusing Gilbert of betraying her and causing significant damage to her career.
Barr, who was the lead actress and creator of the hugely popular “Roseanne” series, alleged that Gilbert “stabbed me in the back and repeatedly twisted it” through her actions. The comments came as a shock to many fans of the show, who had long admired the close-knit dynamic among the cast members.
According to Barr, the rift between the two actresses began when Gilbert, who played Darlene Conner on the series, distanced herself from Barr after the show was revived in 2018. Barr claims that Gilbert, who was also a producer on the reboot, “turned against” her and played a key role in the decision to abruptly cancel the show following Barr’s controversial tweet about former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett.
“She’s always been jealous of me,” Barr said in the interview. “She wanted the show to be called ‘The Darlene Show’ because she felt her character was the real star. And when I refused, she betrayed me.”
The fallout has been deeply personal for Barr, who has been outspoken about the impact the cancellation had on her mental health and career. She alleges that Gilbert’s actions not only led to the show’s demise but also caused her significant personal and professional harm.
“Sara Gilbert destroyed the show and my life with that tweet,” Barr said. “She should’ve had the decency to call me about it, to discuss it with me, but she just threw me under the bus.”
Representatives for Gilbert have not yet commented on Barr’s allegations. However, the reported rift between the two actresses has undoubtedly cast a shadow over the legacy of the beloved “Roseanne” series, which was once celebrated for its groundbreaking portrayal of a working-class American family.
As the dust continues to settle, fans are left to grapple with the complex and seemingly bitter fallout between these two former co-stars, whose on-screen chemistry was once a hallmark of the show.
Roseanne Barr still has some — okay, lots — of hard feelings towards Sara Gilbert, who played her daughter on both the original and reboot of her eponymous sitcom.
In a recent interview with Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, Barr unloaded on Gilbert, saying she “stabbed” her in the back and “repeatedly twisted it.”
Vera Anderson/WireImage; Mike Coppola/Getty Images Roseanne Barr (left) and Sara Gilbert
“It was her tweet that canceled the show,” Barr said of Gilbert. “And then she tweeted ‘It’s sad when one cast member,’ something about racist, blah, blah. And I was floored. I was just floored. And you know, but she ends up owning my work and Tom Werner becomes her partner in owning my work.”
The original Roseanne ran from 1988 to 1997 and followed the day to day life of the blue collar Conner clan in the fictional town of Landford, Ill. It was one of the highest-rated shows on television for most of its run and had already gone down in history as one of the greatest sitcoms ever when ABC brought it back in 2018 — with most of the original cast including Barr and Gilbert as her daughter Darlene.
Things were going gangbusters for the Roseanne reboot, with critical acclaim and high ratings in the midst of the streaming revolution. Then Barr sent a racist tweet about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. Condemnation was swift from Gilbert, among many others, who called Barr’s comments “abhorrent” and not a reflection of the “cast and crew or anyone associated with our show.”
Barr felt especially betrayed by Gilbert after she had “begged me to come back saying, ‘I’ve got your back. This time I won’t let anyone at you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’m gonna protect you. I know you have mental health problems, but I’m gonna be there. I’m gonna stand in the way.'”
Roseanne was canceled after the first season and Barr’s character was killed off — a decision, Barr felt, was a message to her.
“And you know, they just tried to kill me and I felt like they killed my character and my character,” Barr said, “but I thought they were sending a message over the airwaves because they knew I had mental health issues. I thought they wanted me to kill myself. And all my friends did too. They said, they’re trying to push you to suicide.”
Months after Roseanne‘s cancellation, a spin-off, The Conners, following the now Roseanne-less clan, premiered — it was just renewed for its sixth season.
Though Barr said she forgave Gilbert for condemning her racism in 2018, the next year she claimed Gilbert “destroyed the show and my life with that tweet.” One would think that all those “fire Roseanne” and “cancel Roseanne” tweets might have had something to do with it as well, but the correct use of “abhorrent” is pretty powerful.
Reps for Sara Gilbert did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
