Diversity inclusions

Even though ABC weren’t keen on the idea, ‘Roseanne’ featured a handful of openly-gay characters, as the comedian was insistent that the inclusivity was essential for the show, considering both of her siblings were homosexual.

In season eight, Roseanne’s former boss Leon (Martin Mull) married his partner Scott (Fred Willard), which proved to be so controversial for the network, that it actually aired later than its usual slot because the episode included “adult humour”.

Then, both Roseanne’s mother and sister Jackie are revealed to be lesbian.

There, of course, was also the scandalous kiss Roseanne shared with Mariel Hemingway in 1994.

Reflecting on the scene, the comedian said: “It’s so different to watch it now … well ‘because they’ve repackaged it as ‘the gay kiss show,’ and it was a gay kiss, but it was, to me, that was a show about homophobia.

“They threatened to cancel it and everything."