NEWS'Roseanne' Star Michael Fishman Says He'll Always 'Love' Controversial Star Roseanne Barr Despite Sitcom Cancelation
'Roseanne' star Michael Fishman will always 'love' Roseanne Barr despite the sitcom's cancelation.
Aug. 12 2026, Published 7:34 a.m. ET
Michael Fishman is speaking out about the controversy that ended Roseanne and made headlines years later.
On Monday, August 10, the former child star, who played Roseanne Barr’s son, DJ Conner, on the hit sitcom, addressed the long-running debate in an Instagram Reel shared after seeing a comment about the show's cancelation.
“The reboot got canceled because Roseanne made the usual jokes a comedian makes, but America decided to backstab Roseanne,” the comment read.
Michael Fishman, who played DJ Conner on ‘Roseanne,’ pushed back against social media claims about why the reboot was canceled.
“At the time, the LGBTQ and woke c--- took over and started destroying anything it could. Roseanne was one of the people that all of a sudden got flak for remaining to be an edgy comedian,” it continued. “Funny thing is even if she was racist, she had already said more egregious jokes and nobody batted an eye before.”
'I’ve Been Dealing With It Quietly'
Michael Fishman said he has dealt with what he called ‘ignorant and inaccurate comments’ about the controversy for more than eight years.
Rather than let the comment go unanswered, Fishman, 44, explained why he felt compelled to address the claim.
“I get this every day. I get these kinds of ignorant and inaccurate comments daily,” he began, appearing visibly frustrated. “Mostly, I try to ignore them. For over eight years, I’ve been dealing with it quietly. Usually, I don’t respond.”
“After eight years, turning the other cheek really isn’t helping,” he continued.
Fishman then criticized the idea that political arguments should be used to explain what happened to the sitcom.
“So, I guess the world failed to learn the lesson. So I’m going to point out. We are perpetuating a lie, and people are using a political smokescreen to justify the indefensible,” he said.
He then continued to defend the actress.
“Good people make mistakes,” he said of Barr in his Instagram video. “And I love the one who made this mistake. I always will. I’ll always have compassion and love, and I’ve shown it continuously, and she helped the world understand that good people can make mistakes.”
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Barr Was Offered a Return
Roseanne Barr previously claimed producers asked her to return as a ghost on ‘The Conners’ after her character was killed off.
The comments come as Barr, 73, continues to discuss her departure from the franchise.
In her documentary Roseanne Is America, Barr claimed that producers later contacted her about appearing in The Conners, the spinoff that followed the cancelation of Roseanne.
"They called me and asked me if I would like to come back as a guest star," Barr claimed. "You're coming back as a ghost."
Barr said she was furious over the suggestion, considering that the show had continued without her.
"You're asking me to come back to the show that you f------ stole from me and killed my a--, and now you want me to show up because you got s--- f------ ratings and play a ghost," she said.
Ultimately, Barr said she rejected the offer.
"I'm gonna be bowling that f------ week," she recalled her response at the time.
What Happened to the 'Roseanne' Reboot?
ABC canceled ‘Roseanne’ in 2018 after Roseanne Barr faced widespread backlash over a controversial tweet about Valerie Jarrett.
The controversy dates back to 2018, when ABC canceled the Roseanne revival following a controversial tweet by Barr about Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama.
Before the scandal, the reboot had become a major ratings success. Barr's return to television even drew praise from Donald Trump, who congratulated her on the show's comeback.
The situation changed quickly after Barr posted a comment about Jarrett that was widely condemned as racist.
"I had no idea about Jarrett's African-American ancestry when suggesting that the political aide looked like the 'Muslim brotherhood and Planet of the Apes had a baby,'" Barr said, doubling down that she never meant it the way people took it.
ABC responded by condemning the comment and ending the revival.
The network described Barr's remarks as "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values" before canceling the series.
Following Barr's exit, ABC moved forward with The Conners, which centered on the remaining members of the Conner family.
