Roseanne Barr calls ABC 'double standard' as Kimmel returns to network

Roseanne Barr has accused ABC of applying a 'double standard' in how it handles talent, arguing that Jimmy Kimmel’s return to ABC after a brief suspension shows a more forgiving stance than the network gave her own reboot. In an interview with NewsNation, the 72-year-old comedian contrasted Kimmel’s reinstatement with ABC’s decision to cancel her long-running series 'Roseanne' in 2018 after she posted racist comments about Valerie Jarrett. Barr said the network 'ruined' her life and suggested forgiveness had not been extended to her. "I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness and all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity, for racially misgendering someone," Barr told NewsNation on Tuesday, adding that the situation reveals how networks think about accountability and loyalty."

Barr, a longtime supporter of then-President Donald Trump, also criticized Kimmel’s chances of political sympathy, remarking that his supporters would feel vindicated by his comeback and that the audience on the other side would view it as a win over his critics. "I think he’ll cheer himself on and his fans, all what is it, 2,000 of them," she said. "They’ll feel heartened and, you know, like they won another battle against Trump and the people of the United States." Barr has argued that her own career was erased, a claim she has repeated in various interviews over the years. "I’ve been erased from history, from the history of feminism, which that cracks me up," she said, adding she believes she is still seldom mentioned among women who are pioneers in media. "I’m never mentioned in anything anymore.""

ABC canceled Barr’s 'Roseanne' in May 2018 after she posted tweets likening Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to then-President Barack Obama, to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Planet of the Apes. Barr later apologized and said she believed Jarrett was white, but ABC executives nonetheless canceled the show. "Forgive me—my joke was in bad taste," Barr wrote at the time. The network’s decision effectively erased the show from its lineup, a move Barr described as a permanent erasure of her legacy. In the interview and in previous remarks, Barr has linked that decision to what she sees as inconsistent treatment by ABC toward other figures and programs on the network."

Barr has not shied away from revisiting these debates. In 2023, she criticized ABC for what she described as unfair treatment relative to Jimmy Kimmel and Joy Behar of The View, recounting the disputes in her Fox Nation stand-up special, Cancel This!. During that material, she suggested whitewashing or selective punishment across ABC’s stable of hosts. Both Kimmel and Behar have addressed past controversies of their own; Kimmel has apologized for using blackface to impersonate celebrities such as Karl Malone on The Man Show, and Behar has denied wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume, describing the look as an homage rather than a racist act. The remarks underline ongoing tensions about accountability, forgiveness, and how networks navigate past missteps while reviving popular programs."

Kimmel’s late-night show is scheduled to be back on air Tuesday, a development that continues to fuel debate about forgiveness, accountability, and the thresholds for reinstatement in the entertainment industry.