Roseanne Barr Says She's Been Sleeping 17 Hours a Day

Roseanne Barr is opening up about the tweet that ended her career at ABC.

Barr said in a clip from Tuesday’s episode of “VICE News Tonight” that she was visiting her mother in Utah when she sent the fateful tweet. She said she woke up just after 2 a.m., sent the tweet that suggested Valerie Jarrett was a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the “Planet of the Apes,” and fell back asleep. When she woke up later that morning, her tweet was all over the news.

“It was characterized as racist, which just made my stomach fall to my feet,” Barr said. “And then the network called and said, what possible excuse could you have for something you’ve done which is unforgivable and some other word that I can’t remember.”

Also Read: John Goodman Says He 'Fell Down the Stairs After 'Roseanne' Cancellation (Video)

“And then I said I’d be happy to go on all the ABC shows and explain it, and apologize. But they said no, I wasn’t allowed to do that. Not too long after that, my mom was watching TV and saw that it was canceled. And that was just the beginning.”

Vice released other excerpts from the interview not featured in the clip above, in which Barr said she’s been using her free time to experience more “real-life stuff,” which includes catching up on up to 17 hours of sleep a day.

“You know, now that I have extra time I really wanna redo all my files and my pictures you know, get them all in order. So that’s what I’ve been working on. So I’m back to what I always did, which is try to get my pictures and my files together. I need a lot of organization. I’m bad at that,” she told the outlet. “I’ve got a lot of time for real life, real-life stuff. Like, just going for a walk with my mom and having an ice cream cone. Stuff like that. Waiting in lines, I’ve really been sleeping a lot, like, probably 17 hours a day.”

Also Read: 'The Conners' First Promo: Roseanne's Dead, the Family's Broke - Happy Halloween! (Video)

Barr also said that she recently took up smoking.

“[I] started smoking… I have struggled with mental health issues and I was struggling at that time as well,” she said. “My whole life I’ve been under punches, not just my career. My life. Ya, I’ve been under punches forever.”

See the full interview on VICE News Tonight Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on HBO. “The Conners” premieres Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

14 Famous Last-Ditch Efforts to Save (Almost) Canceled TV Series (Photos)

Be it poor ratings, a huge cast member exit, or a showrunner shakeup, series can suffer many a crisis that puts them on the rocks with their network. But several shows have managed to back away from the cliff, thanks to some successful hail mary passes. Heck, some have even been resuscitated after cancellation. Check out the gallery below to see programs that were on the brink of cancellation (or already canned) for one reason or another, and the last-ditch efforts that were made to save them.
Netflix
"Roseanne"

The 2018 revival of Roseanne Barr's hit '90s sitcom brought John Goodman's Dan Conner back from the dead and became an insta-hit -- until a racist tweet by its star got it canceled just after the season finale. Then ABC greenlit a spinoff series called "The Conners" -- without Roseanne either on or off camera
ABC
"Star Trek"

A story so nice we'll tell it twice: What became one of the most influential shows of all time was a low-rated cult hit when it originally aired on NBC in the late '60s. It was almost canclled after its second season, but an intense letter writing campaign by the show's dedicated fans convinced NBC to give it a third season -- after which it was canceled for good.

The show went into syndication in the 1970s where it became a truly monster hit. The show was revived as a film series in 1979, which in turn spawned a sequel television series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1987.
NBC
"Valerie"

Simply put, one of the most infamous cast shake-ups in sitcom history. Star Valerie Harper, for whom the show was created and named in 1986, was fired after the second season, and her character killed off, over a fight with NBC and the show's producers over pay. (This would lead to a bitter lawsuit Harper eventually won.) Instead of canceling the hit show, NBC cast Sandy Duncan as a new live-in aunt, retitled the show "Valerie's Family" -- and then changed it to "The Hogan Family" from season 4 on.
NBC
"Baywatch"

The original run on NBC from 1989-90 suffered from poor ratings and a studio shutdown, but David Hasselhoff and the creators helped get the show into syndication -- where it ran for a decade as a worldwide hit.
NBC
"Roswell"

The WB let "Roswell" live after fans sent in bottles of Tabasco sauce (the characters' favorite condiment) to beg the network not to cancel.
20th Century Fox Television
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

The WB didn't put a stake through "Buffy"s heart, but the network wasn't willing to shell out the cash that UPN was for the series -- so it jumped networks.
The WB
"Chuck"

Fans rescued the NBC show by getting advertiser Subway involved with a "Save Chuck" campaign that actually worked.
NBC
"Arrested Development"

Fans thought the Bluth Family was gone for good when Fox canceled the show in 2006, however, Netflix picked it up for a fourth season in 2013 and it's still going.
Netflix
"Friday Night Lights"

A deal NBC struck to have DirecTV produce the show kept the Panthers playing for several seasons.
NBC
"Community"

The cult show spent its life on NBC perpetually on the bubble until the network finally cancelled it after season 5. Yahoo Screen picked up the series soon after; Fans got their "six seasons," now they just need the "and a movie" part.
NBC
"Jericho"

Fans took a main character shouting “nuts” to heart and sent CBS studio executives tons of the snack. Lucky for them, they reviewed the ratings and renewed it.
CBS
"Once Upon a Time"

Almost every key regular decided to leave after the ABC fantasy show's sixth season in 2017. It looked like all might be lost, but producers opted for a soft reboot that kept it going.
ABC
"The Leftovers"

Die-hard fans showed up at HBO's headquarters in NYC dressed as the show's Guilty Remnant faction, which was good enough for the network for one more round.
HBO
"Nashville"

ABC denied the country musician-centric show a fifth season, so CMT stepped up and brought it to a new home where it was truly appreciated.
ABC

1 of 15

“Roseanne,” redubbed “The Conners,” is the latest show to barely escape the executioner’s block

Be it poor ratings, a huge cast member exit, or a showrunner shakeup, series can suffer many a crisis that puts them on the rocks with their network. But several shows have managed to back away from the cliff, thanks to some successful hail mary passes. Heck, some have even been resuscitated after cancellation. Check out the gallery below to see programs that were on the brink of cancellation (or already canned) for one reason or another, and the last-ditch efforts that were made to save them.

View In Gallery

14 Famous Last-Ditch Efforts to Save (Almost) Canceled TV Series (Photos)

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