Roseanne Barr decries 'double standard' as ABC reinstates Jimmy Kimmel seven years after firing her

Roseanne Barr blasted what she described as a 'double standard' in ABC's handling of Jimmy Kimmel's return, seven years after the network fired her from her eponymous sitcom. Barr, 72, said the network has shown leniency toward Kimmel while erasing her own career for a single tweet.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was indefinitely suspended last Wednesday after he suggested that Charlie Kirk's killer may have been part of the 'MAGA gang,' prompting the FCC chairman to publicly threaten a probe into the show. The murder investigation has indicated that the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, held leftist views and allegedly texted his live-in transgender partner Lance Twiggs, also known as Luna, that he shot the MAGA influencer because he 'had enough of his hatred.' Twiggs is cooperating with authorities. Kimmel's suspension drew a rapid outcry from Hollywood, and ABC backtracked, announcing on Monday that the program would resume on Tuesday.

Barr seized on the episode to rail against what she described as a 'double standard' in how ABC has treated Kimmel compared with her own firing in 2018. '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. It just shows how they think. It’s a double standard,' Barr said in an interview with News Nation.

Barr argued that she has been 'erased from history, from the history of feminism, which that cracks me up. I’m never mentioned in anything anymore,' and said colleagues who helped bring her into show business now avoid discussing her, particularly in discussions of censorship.

Back in 2018, after Barr's tweet about Valerie Jarrett, she deleted the message and blamed the post on Ambien. She later said she did not realize Jarrett was Black, even shouting to an interviewer, 'I thought the b**** was white!' ABC chief Channing Dungey jettisoned Barr from Roseanne; Kimmel himself called the tweet 'indefensible' during a monologue, saying it did not 'sit well with ABC management or anyone with a brain.'

Barr said she believes the network's punishment was applied unevenly to talent tied to high-rated shows and that Kimmel's return exposed what she described as a broader pattern of protection for hit programs at the network's expense.

Following Kimmel's return, Nexstar's 32 ABC affiliates and Sinclair-affiliated stations declined to broadcast the show on Tuesday, a move Barr praised as independent media breaking from the network's decisions. She has long positioned herself as an advocate for decentralized information, arguing that it reflects what Americans want and need.

A new documentary, Roseanne Is America, released this summer, revisits the backlash and the network's decision to remove Barr from Roseanne. Barr has since recounted that ABC sought her to appear as a guest star on The Conners, only to offer a ghostly return, which she rejected, quipping that she would rather be a ghost on the show than a living participant in a arrangement she described as theft of her work.

The Roseanne saga began with the original series, which ran nine seasons from 1988 to 1997 and helped define a generation of television. The later revival, rebranded as The Conners after Barr's exit, continued for seven seasons before ending in the spring. Barr has continued to speak publicly through platforms such as The Roseanne Barr Podcast, arguing for greater autonomy from the entertainment industry and criticizing what she sees as centralized media power.

Her comments come amid ongoing debates within Hollywood about accountability, censorship, and the consistency of penalties handed to prominent figures, especially when tied to politically charged statements. While Kimmel returns to late-night airwaves, Barr's confrontation with ABC underscores a broader tension over how networks balance punishment, reputational risk, and the whims of audiences in a rapidly changing media landscape.