'I thought she was white': Roseanne Barr defends racist Twitter remarks

  • 21/07/2018
'I thought she was white': Roseanne Barr defends racist Twitter remarks
Photo credit: YouTube

Roseanne Barr has attempted to defend her racist comments on Twitter, but appears to have dug herself an even deeper hole. 

The actress has stirred up more controversy, after her show, Roseanne, was cancelled in response to racist comments she made on Twitter about former US President Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett - an African-American woman - saying she was the offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.  

Barr has now filmed an "official statement" published on YouTube where she defends the racist tweet, which has since been deleted. In the video she says she thought Ms Jarrett was white, which she appears to think excuses her from being labelled a racist. 

"I'd like to welcome you to my own studio where I'm able to speak for myself to my fellow and sister Americans without the filter of the biased media," she says in the video. 

"This was my statement from the very beginning, and it will continue to be forever because it is the truth," she says. 

"When ABC called and asked me to explain my 'egregious, unforgivable tweet', I told them I thought Valerie Jarrett was white."

Barr says she's willing to go on talks shows to explain her defence in more detail. She says 40 minutes after she told ABC she thought Ms Jarrett was white, her show was cancelled "before even one advertiser pulled out". 

Barr says it's unfair she has been labelled a racist, and claims she's been targeted because she voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. Voting for Mr Trump "is not allowed in Hollywood", she says. 

Some Twitter users have hailed Barr for her remarks, with one saying she's "absolutely right" that she has been labelled a racist after admitting to voting for Mr Trump. Another says Barr's show was cancelled because she's white and voted for Mr Trump. 

Roseanne, which centred on a low-income American family, originally aired from 1988 to 1997. It was revived for a new season in March 2018, and a second season was ordered after high ratings.

The reboot was popular with conservative Americans, as it portrayed lead character Roseanne Conner as a Mr Trump supporter.

Newshub.