John Goodman on Roseanne Barr, ‘The Conners,’ ‘The Righteous Gemstones,’ and the Similarities Between U.S. and Foreign Shows: ‘Both Sides Have Mandatory F—ing Now’
variety.comLeo Barraclough International Features Editor “The Conners” and “The Righteous Gemstones” star John Goodman says he misses his “Roseanne” co-star Roseanne Barr, but he’s not sure he’d work with her again.
Hit sitcom “Roseanne” was canceled by ABC in 2018 after a racially-charged tweet by Barr about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American woman who was a senior adviser to Barack Obama throughout his presidency.
Barr later apologized. Later that year, Goodman told the Sunday Times: “I was surprised at the response. And that’s probably all I should say about that … I know for a fact that she’s not a racist.” He added that Barr was “going through hell.” Barr then thanked Goodman “for speaking truth about me.” At the Monte-Carlo Television Festival this week, where he served as president of the fiction jury, Variety sat down with Goodman in the Blue Gin Lounge of the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel, overlooking the Mediterranean.
Does Goodman regret speaking up for Barr? “No. At the time I remember going to some kind of junket where they saw the pilot, and then the interviews, and it just turned into attack.
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