Roseanne Barrspoke out aboutThe Connerson Tuesday after the spin-off of hercanceledRoseannerebootpremiered without the franchise’s former star.
In thepremiere, the Conner family addressed Barr’s absence in the opening scene. As the family gathered in the kitchen mourning the loss of “Granny Rose” three weeks after her death, a concerned Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) asked to speak to Dan (John Goodman) alone outside.
While the family initially thought she suffered a heart attack in her sleep, they find out Roseannedied of an opiate overdose.
During the episode’s airing, Barr, who won’t appear in the spin-off, addressed her character’s death.
“I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!” she tweeted.
She later put out a longer, more eloquent joint statement withRabbi Shmuley Boteachregarding the show’s spin-off and decision to kill off her character.
Boteach, who bills himself as “America’s Rabbi,” is best known for his high-profile connection toMichael Jackson, to whom he served as a spiritual adviser. He has also been connected to former reality starJon Gosselin.
“That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show.”
“This was a choice the network did not have to make.Roseannewas the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society. Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord,” they continued.
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“The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country,” the joint statement continued.
“Through humor and a universally relatable main character, the showrepresented a weekly teaching moment for our nation. Yet it is often following an inexcusable – but not unforgivable – mistake that we can discover the most important lesson of all: Forgiveness.”
“Our society needs to heal on many levels. What better way for healing than a shared moment, once a week, where we could have all enjoyed a compelling storyline featuring a witty character – a woman – who America connected with, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. The cancellation ofRoseanneis an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris, and a refusal to forgive.”
In the aftermath of the tweet, ABCdropped the revival ofRoseanne, which was the no. 1 scripted series of the season. “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, said in a statement.
During the fallout, Barr claimed that shewas using Ambienthatcaused her to tweetand that shedid not know that Jarrett is black.
Weeks after the cancellation ofRoseanne, PEOPLE confirmed that ABC was moving forward with a spinoff for a 10-episode, straight-to-series order.TheConners, which Barr has no involvement in,started production in August.
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In September, Barr said on theRabbi Shmuley Boteach Podcastof the spinoff, “I’m not going to curse it or bless it.”
RELATED VIDEO: Sara Gilbert, John Goodman & Laurie Metcalf Speak Out Together for First Time SinceRoseanne Barr’s Offensive Tweet
She continued, “I’m staying neutral. That’s what I do. I’m staying neutral. I’m staying away from it. Not wishing bad on anyone, and I don’t wish good for my enemies. I don’t. I can’t. I just stay neutral. That’s what I gotta do. I have some mental health issues of depression and stuff. I got to stay in the middle or I’ll go dark, and I don’t want to go dark again. I’ve done it. After all, I was married toTom Arnold.”
Barrsaid that she would be in Israelduring the premiere. “I have an opportunity to go to Israel for a few months and study with my favorite teachers over there, and that’s where I’m going to go and probably move somewhere there and study with my favorite teachers,” she said. “I have saved a few pennies and I’m so lucky I can go.”
In October,Sara Gilbert, Goodman and Metcalfopened up to PEOPLEabout Barr’s absence in the spin-off.
“We have to react to what’s missing, but everything else is pretty much the same,” Goodman said.
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“It was awkward but not awkward,” Metcalf said of the first day on the set ofThe Conners. “It was right but not right, wrong but not wrong. We were sort of looking at each other like, ‘How do you feel? How is everybody?’ Checking in.”
“Sara and I had this scene in the first show where we addressed the grief,” Metcalf continued. “Sometimes when you’re an actor and you have to go to that place, you substitute something, but in this case there was no need to do that, because it was there. And it was real. And still makes me choke up, because that part of it’s been really hard.”
“Any sadness that we feel over what we’ve lost we’re hopefully channeling in an honest way into the show,” Gilbert said. “And our show has always been able to deal with heavy topics, particularly for a sitcom. It’s been kind of built into the mix.”
source: people.com
