Roseanne Barr blasts 'double standards' over Jimmy Kimmel return
Roseanne Barr has blasted "double standards" at ABC after Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to air.
Roseanne Barr has blasted "double standards" after Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to air.
The 72-year-old star - who was dropped from Roseanne after comparing White House advisor Valerie Jarrett to an "ape" in a late-night Twitter post she later claimed was written when she was on the sleeping pill Ambien - is furious with network ABC for "ruining" her life over her social media post but allowing the 57-year-old broadcaster's talk show to come back following a week-long suspension over comments he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Roseanne told NewsNation: "It just shows how they think. I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness, all of my work stolen, and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone.
"It's a double standard."
Roseanne hit out at Jimmy for publicly criticising her in the wake of her comments about the presidential aide, particularly because of his own portrayal of basketball player Karl Malone on Comedy Central's The Man Show.
She said: "[Jimmy] called me a racist even though I said repeatedly, which they repeatedly censored, that it was a mistake. I thought that the woman was a white woman from Iran.
"He called me a racist even though he himself appeared in blackface on their network many times."
Roseanne believes Jimmy's inaction when she was going through her struggles in part led to the controversy over his suspension.
She said: "I think he’ll cheer himself on and his fans, all — what is it? — 2,000 of them. They’ll feel heartened and like they won another battle against Trump and the people of the United States. So it'll be a big celebration.
"[If he] had defended me, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
Jimmy previously apologised for his use of blackface on The Man Show.
He said in a statement in 2020: "There is nothing more important to me than your respect, and I apologise to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the make-up I wore or the words I spoke."
Roseanne previously claimed she thinks President Donald Trump's advisors are "a little afraid" of her and view her as a "loose cannon", despite her support for the US leader.
She told Variety: “The Trump administration regards me as a loose cannon, which I am.
“I’m not a party line person for anyone or anything except myself. The Trump staff or whoever runs it, they’re a little afraid of me."
Although she can "understand" that point of view, she admitted it "hurt" to have invited several of Trump's allies on her podcast with no success.
She added: "I am a loudmouth comedian, so I understand it. But it really hurt my feelings. But what are you gonna do?”
