Roseanne Barr said she will not be in the United States when « The Conners » debuts on ABC this fall.
Sept. 3 (UPI) — Roseanne Barr said she will not be in the United States when The Conners debuts on ABC this fall.
The sitcom is a spinoff of Roseanne, the recently revived show she created and starred in until she was fired for making a racist joke on Twitter.
« 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 Hollywood Reporter quoted the comedian as saying in a new podcast with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. « I have saved a few pennies and I’m so lucky I can go… and study with any rabbi that I can ask to teach me, and it’s my great joy and privilege to be a Jewish woman. »
Barr said she doesn’t plan to watch The Conners or follow the media coverage of it.
« I’m not going to curse it or bless it, » she said. « I’m staying neutral. That’s what I do. I’m staying neutral. I’m staying away from it. Not wishing bad on anyone and I don’t wish good for my enemies. I don’t. I can’t. I just stay neutral. 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. Ha ha. »
ABC said Friday that filming had begun on The Conners in Burbank, Calif. The network also released a photo of Barr’s former castmates — Sara Gilbert, Jayden Rey, Michael Fishman, Ames McNamara, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson and Emma Kenney — practicing their lines with their scripts in the fictional family’s iconic kitchen.
Roseanne initially ran 1988-97 and remained popular in re-runs. It earned high ratings when it returned last spring with new episodes and was renewed for an 11th season, which was swiftly canceled after Barr caused a social-media firestorm with a jab at a former adviser to President Barack Obama.
Barr has since repeatedly apologized for what she has called a joke, but she was widely condemned for the racial remark.
ABC announced in June it was moving forward with a new version of the show without Barr. The Conners is to debut Oct. 16.
