She wants none of it. Roseanne Barr is going to stay far, far away when The Conners premieres, the comedian said in a new interview.
“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,” the 65-year-old said on the “Rabbi Shmuley Podcast” posted on Saturday, September 1. “I have saved a few pennies and I’m so lucky I can go … and study with any rabbi that can teach me. And it’s my great joy and privilege to be a Jewish woman.”
Though Barr had to relinquish all of rights to her hit show Roseanne in order for the spinoff to happen without her, she told the rabbi that she’s not going to say anything negative.
“I’m not going to curse it or bless it. I’m staying neutral. … I’m staying away from it, not wishing bad on anyway, and I don’t wish good for my enemies,” insisted the actress, who also ppointed out she’s working on a new show. “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 to Tom Arnold!”
ABC immediately canceled the hit show’s revival in May when Barr called former White House aide Valerie Jarrett a combination of “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes.” Channing Dungey, the network’s entertainment president, criticized the star’s comments in a statement at the time: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”
While the network has not yet revealed how Barr’s character will be written on the show, John Goodman, who plays Dan Conner, hinted that wife Roseanne may no longer be alive when The Conners premieres. “It’s an unknown,” the actor, 66, told The Times in an August interview. “I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife is dead.”
Goodman added that he “was very depressed” after Roseanne was canceled, but was caught off guard by what happened and defended his former costar. “I’ll put it this way: I was surprised at the response. And that’s probably all I should say about it,” he said in the interview. “I know, I know for a fact that she’s not racist.”
ABC announced in June that the spinoff would be happening, and that the entire original cast — minus Barr — would be back. The cast then released a statement of its own: “We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience. … We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”
The Conners premieres on ABC Tuesday, October 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
