Roseanne Barr erupted at Michael Fishman after her former “Roseanne” co-star defended ABC’s decision to cancel the sitcom’s 2018 revival. During an appearance on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast, Barr called him a “brainwashed bigot” and accused him of ignoring her explanations of the post that ended the show. She also recounted a hostile exchange she says the two had about it. Fishman played Barr’s son D.J. Conner on the sitcom.
Fishman recently said the revival was “rightfully canceled” after Barr’s post about Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. The podcast hosts brought up his comments while speaking with Barr. She responded by saying Fishman had asked her about the post repeatedly over the years, yet still misunderstood what she meant. Her account quickly turned into a direct attack on his intelligence and politics.
Barr claimed she had explained the post thousands of times online and said Fishman had failed to listen. She called him a bigot, then added that he was brainwashed. Barr also described reaching the end of her patience with his questions about the controversy. By her account, she finally told him to leave her alone in far harsher language than that.
“Don’t put my name in your f—ng mouth; shut the f— up,” Barr recalled telling Fishman. As Fox News reported, she also called him an ignoramus and accused him of accepting the Democratic Party’s account of her post. Barr said he lacked the geopolitical context to discuss it. Fishman subsequently responded to her remarks in a statement shared on social media.
Fishman said he had reached out to Barr with compassion after the 2018 controversy, although he strongly disagreed with her. He confirmed that her account of what she said to him was accurate and said he had kept those comments private to protect her. Fishman expressed gratitude for their years working together on the original show while describing the difficulty of caring about someone whose views he no longer understood. He said he intended to respond with compassion and set boundaries for himself.
The dispute traces back to the revival’s brief run in 2018. “Roseanne” returned to ABC in March and drew a large audience, but the network canceled it in May after Barr posted a remark about Jarrett. Barr apologized for the post. The following month, ABC announced “The Conners,” bringing back much of the cast while leaving Barr out of the production. The spin-off explained her character’s absence through an off-screen death.
Barr’s split with the cast has surfaced in other recent interviews. Laurie Metcalf, who played her sister Jackie Harris, said she and Barr haven’t spoken since they finished the revival. Barr gave a similar account to Fox News Digital in June 2025, saying she no longer kept in touch with her former co-stars. She recalled enjoying their years together on “Roseanne,” then criticized the decisions she believes spoiled its return.
"*" indicates required fields
Watch Barr’s podcast appearance here:
In that 2025 interview, Barr said the cast members belonged to an earlier chapter of her life and described the fun they had making the show. She also accused them of greed and stupidity over what happened to the revival. Her parting line captured both sentiments: “F— them, but I wish them well.” Her new remarks about Fishman show exactly which disagreement still angers her.
Barr has also described a proposed return to “The Conners.” In her documentary “Roseanne Barr is America,” she said she was invited to appear as a guest star after the spin-off had killed off her character. The proposed role was Roseanne Conner’s ghost. Barr said she turned it down, objecting to an invitation to appear on the show that had continued without her.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.