Roseanne Barr unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against her former onscreen son Michael Fishman after he recently addressed her 2018 racism scandal.
Barr, 72, attacked Fishman, 43, in an upcoming episode of the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast, fuming that the actor “doesn’t even f–king know what I said” despite her repeated explanations online. The two starred together on the original “Roseanne” run from 1988 to 1997, with Fishman playing DJ Conner, the youngest child of Barr’s character.
According to Barr, Fishman had asked her to explain her 2018 rant to him privately, even though she claimed she had already tried to do so multiple times. She said she responded with a blistering refusal.
“Let me explain this to you, Michael. Go and f–k yourself and stay f–ked until the day you die,” she recounted telling him. “Don’t f–king put my name in your f–king mouth. Shut the f–k up.”
Barr further alleged that Fishman lacks any ability to comprehend her remarks because of his political affiliations. She claimed the Democratic party has been “shoved down [his] throat and up [his] ass,” leaving him without the “geopolitical context whatsoever to discuss what I said.”
She also took credit for his casting in the 2018 “Roseanne” reboot, insisting she was “the only reason you were on that show.” Barr claimed producers wanted to drop Fishman from the revival but she insisted they bring him back. “F–k you, you little f–king putz,” she added.
The podcast outburst marks the latest escalation in a feud that began days after Barr’s racist tweetstorm in May 2018. At that time, Barr claimed Fishman had thrown her “under the bus” by publicly condemning her remarks, which had targeted Chelsea Clinton, George Soros, and former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. ABC canceled the reboot within hours of the controversy, though it quickly retooled as “The Conners” without Barr’s involvement.
Fishman joined that spinoff and continued playing DJ Conner for its entire run.
Last month, Fishman spoke about the firing while expressing lingering affection for his former co-star. He defended ABC’s decision to terminate Barr, stating that “there was no joke” in what she posted.
“There was only damage and dehumanizing — and perpetuating racial tropes leads to real-world consequences,” he said. He also emphasized that he would “always have compassion and love” for Barr, adding that he had shown it “continuously” and that she “helped the world understand that good people can make mistakes.”
Barr’s 2018 tweets compared Valerie Jarrett, a Black woman, to an ape, prompting immediate backlash. The following day, Barr issued a blanket apology on Twitter and announced she was leaving the platform. “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” she wrote. “I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.” She later deleted the apology and has since maintained that her remarks were misinterpreted.
Barr has spent the intervening years defending herself across social media and various media appearances, frequently claiming that her comments were about Jarrett’s political positions rather than her race. Her frustration with Fishman appears rooted in her belief that he never absorbed these explanations despite her repeated efforts.
The podcast episode featuring Barr’s remarks has not yet been released.
Fishman has not publicly responded to Barr’s latest comments. A representative for the actor did not immediately return a request for comment.
Barr continues to tour with her stand-up comedy act and host podcasts, having largely relocated to a more conservative media ecosystem following her mainstream blacklisting.
The “Can’t Be Censored” podcast episode featuring Barr’s interview is scheduled for release this week.