Tim Allen Breaks Silence On Roseanne Barr Firing: ‘That’s Not The Rosie I Know’
Roseanne Barr’s world crumbled, her career went down the drain, and many labeled her as a “disgraced TV star” after she took to Twitter a few months ago to compare Valerie Jarrett to an ape. Unfortunately for Roseanne, she received more than just a brutal backlash from fans and followers. ABC swiftly fired Barr and pulled the plug on the Roseanne reboot after it had previously been renewed for a second season.
Tim Allen, who happens to be a long-time friend of Barr, was one of the first celebrity names to come to mind for many as he was the star of an equally controversial show on ABC called Last Man Standing, People Magazine reminds us. Allen played the role of Mike Baxter who was a traditional, passionate, and patriotic father.
Last Man Standing aired on ABC for six seasons before being canceled last year. Considering the show had a massive fan base and high ratings, most – including members of the cast – found the network decision to pull the plug on the series as a huge shock. Some speculated the decision was based on showrunner Tim’s personal political views.
Several months have passed since Roseanne made that racist blunder on social media that seemingly cost her everything, and Allen has finally broken his silence on what happened.
During an interview with reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour yesterday, Allen defended the person Rosanne used to be, “I go away back with Rosie and that’s not the Rosie I know.”
“She was the most diverse and tolerant woman I’ve ever known for a long time. Whatever got in her head, isn’t the Roseanne I know. It’s a very icy time. I’m a veteran comedian for 38 years and I’ve never seen it, like Lenny Bruce said at the Purple Onion, ‘We’ve gone backwards.’ There are things you can’t say. There are things you shouldn’t say,” Allen continued to explain during the interview.
Tim also questioned during the interview who exactly it was that makes up the rules on what is and is not acceptable for a comedian to say, “Who makes up these rules? And as a stand-up comic, it’s a dangerous position to be in because I like pushing buttons. It’s unfortunate.”
Allen also expressed his support of ABC’s decision to cancel Roseanne after what Barr said on social media. He clarified that, ultimately, it was the network’s decision to do what they felt was necessary.
The 65-year-old actor and veteran comedian even took a little time to share his own thoughts on the speculation that ABC made the decision to cancel Last Man Standing for political reasons.
“I’ve worked for ABC for years… I don’t really believe it was a political decision. I think it was a financial decision… I thought it was done very poorly, that’s my point of view. I was heartbroken.”
In May, news broke that Fox made the decision to pick up Last Man Standing after previously being canceled. Season 7 of the controversial series starring Tim Allen has an official premiere date of September 28.
