For roughly a decade, across over 200 episodes, John Goodman and Roseanne Barr were colleagues on the ABC sitcom Roseanne. After the show’s brief revival and subsequent cancellation in 2018, the two’s careers split. In a recent interview with Variety published on Sunday, Goodman opened up about his feelings regarding Barr, his past of defending her, and how his opinion changed or stayed the same.
Roseanne originally ran from 1988 to 1997. ABC revived the show two decades later, but it ended up canceled just hours after Barr made racist tweets about former President Barack Obama’s White House advisor Valerie Jarrett. Last year, Barr announced her plans for a comeback.
John Goodman defended Roseanne Barr in the immediate fallout from her tweets
Barr faced immediate backlash from her tweet likening the former Obama aide to an ape and went on to blame the posts, which she called a “bad joke” on “ambien tweeting,” referring to the sedative used as a sleeping pill. In response to her comments, ABC issued a statement saying, “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values and we have decided to cancel her show.”
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During the initial fallout, Goodman defended Barr. “I was surprised at the response,” he told the Sunday Times. “And that’s probably all I should say about that … I know for a fact that she’s not a racist.” Catching up with Goodman today shows that his position has not changed, and he feels bad for Barr.
Goodman feels the same today
Jump to present day and Goodman was asked if he regretted speaking up for Barr. “No,” he said. “At the time I remember going to some kind of junket where they saw the pilot, and then the interviews, and it just turned into attack. And that made me very uncomfortable with them just attacking Roseanne. I felt bad for her.”
“I just feel terrible about the whole thing,” he continued. “We had a great time. And I love her. She’s just her own person.” On her own part, Barr did not want her tweets or actions defended. “i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible,” she subsequently tweeted. “I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it please. ty.”
When asked if he would work with her again, should the occasion arise, Goodman was unsure. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “If she’d liked to… I just don’t know. I miss her. I wish her well.”
