According to a new report by Radar Online , Roseanne Barr was allegedly a “terror” on set before being fired by ABC for sending out a racist tweet, likening former President Barack Obama’s onetime aide, Valerie Jarrett, to an ape.
The site reported that the pressure of seeing the show’s once-strong ratings drop sent the sitcom star into a tailspin. Roseanne debuted to blockbuster ratings on March 27, 2018. The show lost more than half of its audience in its two months on the air, dropping steadily from 25 to 10 million viewers.
Radar reported a source close to the set revealed, “Anyone can see she was losing it. She was flubbing her lines and having massive temper tantrums.” They also added she was “stressing over every little thing and snapping at people.”
The drama surrounding the Roseanne star began on May 28 when Roseanne made a racist statement on Twitter about Jarrett.
The show’s executive producer Wanda Sykes announced on Twitter that she quit the show over the controversial statement citing, “I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.”
Sara Gilbert, who starred as Barr’s TV daughter and also served as an executive producer on the ABC series blasted Barr on Twitter stating, “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.”
John Goodman, who played Roseanne’s husband Dan Conner, diplomatically remarked to Entertainment Tonight that he would “rather say nothing than to cause more trouble. Everything’s fine.” He added that he has stayed away from the controversy surrounding Barr.
What @TheRealRoseanne said is indefensible, but angrily attacking a woman who is obviously not well does no good for anyone. Please take a breath and remember that mental health issues are real. The Roseanne I know could probably use some compassion and help right now.
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 30, 2018
Deadline Hollywood reported that Roseanne was angry at the reaction from her fellow co-stars after the backlash regarding her actions began. The actress lashed out at Michael Fishman, who played D.J. Connor on the original series and in the revival and whose character had both an African-American daughter and wife on the series. He called Barr ‘s tweet “reprehensible and intolerable” in a lengthy message on the social media platform. Roseanne clapped back at Fishman by stating, “I created the platform for that inclusivity and you know it. ME. You throw me under the bus. nice!”
Jimmy Kimmel asked for compassion for the comedienne, blaming mental illness for her actions. The talk show host and comedian took to Twitter with the following message.
“What @TheRealRoseanne said is indefensible, but angrily attacking a woman who is obviously not well does no good for anyone. Please take a breath and remember that mental health issues are real. The Roseanne I know could probably use some compassion and help right now.”