Roseanne Barr’s son is pushing back after one of her former co-stars said the revival of her sitcom was “rightfully cancelled” following her racist post about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Michael Fishman, who appeared alongside Barr on the hit series, addressed her 2018 firing in an Instagram post on Tuesday, describing the tweet about Jarrett as both “indefensible” and “dehumanizing.”
Barr faced swift and widespread backlash at the time after writing that Jarrett, who is African-American and served as a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, looked like the “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”
Now Barr’s son, Jake Pentland, has entered the dispute, criticizing Fishman’s remarks and accusing members of the cast of working together to wrest control of the show away from his mother.
Speaking to TMZ, Pentland conceded that the episode caused harm, but argued that Barr was the person who ultimately suffered the most severe consequences.
Pentland claimed the cast misrepresented what Barr had said, took her comments out of context and coordinated behind the scenes to remove the series from her hands.
Roseanne Barr’s son is defending the comedian after a former co-star said her reboot was “rightfully cancelled” over racist remarks she made about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett
He further alleged that Barr’s colleagues did not ask her to explain the tweet and said they prevented her from mounting a public defense in the aftermath.
‘I wish him good luck in finding work one day. Hopefully selling the woman responsible for his career out was worth it for him,’ he said of Pentland.
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Fishman for comment.
Barr initially defended herself against accusations of racism but later publicly apologized to Jarrett ‘for making a bad joke’ and even removed herself from Twitter (now X).
However, Barr’s apology did little to quell the backlash and ABC ended up canceling Roseanne despite it being the third highest-rated US show that year.
Fishman, who famously starred as Barr’s son D.J. Conner in the original series, the reboot and the 2018 spin-off The Conners, addressed the years-old controversy in an Instagram video on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old declared that the reboot was ‘rightfully canceled’ as he slammed the ‘indefensible’ and ‘dehumanizing’ remarks that Barr made nearly a decade ago.
He was responding to a fan comment speculating that Roseanne was axed because ‘woke crap took over.’
The commenter also condemned America for ‘backstabbing’ Barr after decades of celebrating her as an ‘edgy comedian.’
In an Instagram video shared Tuesday, Michael Fishman declared that Roseanne was ‘rightfully canceled’ as he condemned the ‘indefensible’ remarks that Barr made nearly a decade ago
Fishman, who famously starred as Barr’s son D.J. Conner in the original series, the reboot and the 2018 spin-off The Conners, addressed the years-old controversy in an Instagram video on Tuesday; (L-R) Michael Fishman, Lecy Goranson, Roseanne Barr, Sarah Chalke and John Goodman in 2018
Fishman (bottom left) famously starred as Barr’s son D.J. Conner in both the original series, the reboot and the 2018 spin-off The Conners; the Roseanne cast in 1989
Fishman included a screenshot of the comment in his video as an example of the ‘ignorant and inaccurate comments’ he claims to receive on a daily basis.
‘Mostly, I try to ignore them for over eight years. I’ve been dealing with it quietly. Usually, I don’t respond,’ he said. ‘After eight years, turning the other cheek is really not helping.
‘So, I guess the world failed to learn the lesson, so I’m going to point out – we are perpetuating a lie and people are using a political smoke screen to justify the indefensible.’
He reminded fans that Barr referred to her own comments as ‘indefensible’ in the aftermath of her racism scandal as he explained that justifying the ‘indefensible’ can lead ‘to real consequences.’
‘Real crimes situations like Trey Reed and Tasha Fortune, because dehumanizing people is never a joke,’ he said, referring to two Black people who mysteriously died in Mississippi this year.
‘See, when we’re on stage as comedians or on camera, we have the freedom to say whatever we want but that doesn’t mean there’s no responsibility and no consequences.
‘The brilliant comedians help us laugh at the darkest, darkest topics. Sadly, in this case, there was no joke. And the show was rightfully canceled. It’s the last time I’m really gonna go into this.’
He reminded fans that Barr referred to her own comments as ‘indefensible’ in the aftermath of her racism scandal as he explained that justifying the ‘indefensible’ can lead ‘to real consequences’
While he greatly condemns Barr for the ‘joke’ that got her canned, Fishman also said that he ‘loves’ her and acknowledged that ‘good people make mistakes’; Barr seen in 2023
While he greatly condemns Barr for the ‘joke’ that got her canned, Fishman also said that he ‘loves’ her and acknowledged that ‘good people make mistakes.’
‘And I love the one who made this mistake. I always will. I’ll always have compassion and love, and I’ve shown it continuously and she helped the world understand that good people can make mistakes.
‘But there was no joke. There’s only damage and dehumanizing and perpetuating racial tropes. Leads to real world consequences,’ he said.
‘And the only people who are “backstabbed” were the people who were targeted by the statements. And those who became collateral damage from it.’
To conclude his video, Fishman encouraged his 207,000 followers to think before they speak because ‘words have real world consequences.’
‘Be smart enough to just shut the hell up. Don’t finish the statement. Don’t hit send and certainly don’t rage against anybody else. Because words have real world consequences.
‘And some of us deal with them every day. That’s freedom of speech.’
Before issuing her apology to Jarrett in 2018, Barr had caused more uproar by tweeting that ‘Islam is not a race.’
Shortly after Roseanne’s cancellation, ABC greenlit a spin-off series The Conners, which brought back all the Roseanne stars except Barr, whose character was killed off via an opioid overdose. The Conners ran from 2018 to 2025
As the backlash mounted, the comedian published an apology tweet directly to Jarrett, writing: ‘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.’
Within hours, ABC made the decision to cancel the renewal for Roseanne’s 11th season, with President of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey slamming Barr’s tweets as ‘abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.’
Jarrett herself responded to Roseanne’s comments during a town hall on MSNBC called ‘Everyday Racism in America’ at the time.
She said ABC made the right call in cancelling Barr’s show. ‘First of all, I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment,’ she said.
‘I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers coming to their defense.’
She also claimed that then-Disney CEO Bob Iger had called her before the cancellation was publicly announced.
Barr’s axing from Roseanne had further consequences for her career as she was also dropped by her then-agent shortly after.
The reboot of the show, which originally ran from 1988 to 1997, looked at how the working class Conner family were faring during the Trump era.
Along with Barr and Fishman, the short-lived show saw the return of original stars like John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf.
Shortly after Roseanne’s cancellation in 2018, ABC greenlit a spin-off series The Conners, which brought back all of the Roseanne stars except Barr, whose character was killed off via an opioid overdose. The Conners ran for seven seasons until 2025.
