Jake Pentland alleges cast misrepresented Roseanne Barr's tweets and blocked her defense
Roseanne Barr's son, Jake Pentland, claims the reboot's cast took her controversial 2018 tweets out of context, conspired to remove her from the show, and prevented her from responding publicly.
Jake Pentland, the son of comedian Roseanne Barr, told TMZ that members of the "Roseanne" reboot cast misinterpreted his mother's 2018 Twitter remarks and acted to strip her of control over the series. Pentland said the actors did not seek clarification from Barr and effectively barred her from defending herself publicly. He added that while he acknowledges the tweets were inappropriate, he believes Barr bore the brunt of the backlash.
The controversy stems from a 2018 tweet in which Barr compared a former White House adviser to an "ape," a comment she later said was a mistake made while on medication and that she intended to criticize policy rather than race. Following the incident, ABC cancelled the reboot after one season. Barr subsequently apologized in multiple interviews, describing her remarks as ignorant and expressing regret for any hurt caused.
Former cast member Michael Fishman responded on Instagram, stating that he had endured years of inaccurate commentary about the controversy and that the show's cancellation was justified. He warned that dismissing the issue as a political smokescreen could lead to real consequences, emphasizing that dehumanizing remarks are never acceptable.
ABC and Pentland did not respond to requests for comment at the time of reporting.