The fallout from “Roseanne” has resurfaced years after the sitcom’s revival collapsed, but this time the fight is happening between people who once played family on screen.
Michael Fishman, who portrayed D.J. Conner, recently defended ABC’s decision to cancel the reboot over Roseanne Barr’s 2018 tweet.
Now, Barr’s son Jake Pentland is pushing back, arguing that his mother paid the heaviest price while members of the cast continued working on a show built from the same franchise.
Pentland agrees that Roseanne Barr’s 2018 social media post caused real harm, but he strongly disputes Fishman’s assessment of who ultimately suffered from the controversy.
According to TMZ, Pentland believes the cast took Barr’s post out of context and “conspired” to take the revival away from her without first asking what she meant.
The controversy erupted in May 2018 after Barr posted a since-deleted tweet comparing former President Barack Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett to the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.”
ABC canceled the highly rated revival only hours later, despite Barr apologizing and deleting the post. The actress later attempted to explain what had been behind the message.
Barr Explains The Intention Behind Her Viral Tweets
In a 2018 interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Roseanne Barr shared that the tweets were “about asking for accountability from the previous administration about the Iran deal, which Valerie Jarrett is the author of, and that was what was in my head.”
She also said her reaction to the backlash “was shock that they were saying it was racial, when it was political.”
Pentland’s argument, however, centers on what happened afterward.
He claims the cast failed to ask Barr “what she meant” and “prevented her from publicly defending herself.”
His frustration is particularly directed at those who remained part of the franchise after Barr was removed.
Roseanne Barr’s Son Fires Back At Michael Fishman’s Defense
Pentland’s response took aim at the idea that the cast’s continued involvement was separate from his mother’s removal.
He told TMZ, “I wish him good luck in finding work one day. Hopefully selling the woman responsible for his career out was worth it for him.”
Fishman had addressed the controversy in an Instagram reel on Monday, explaining why he believed the cancellation was justified.
The former child actor, who played D.J. Conner in both the original series and its revival, said that “After eight years” of dealing with “ignorant and inaccurate” defensive comments about Barr’s controversy, he no longer felt that staying silent was useful.
“So, I guess the world failed to learn the lesson,” Fishman said, adding, “So I’m going to point out. We are perpetuating a lie, and people are using a political smokescreen to justify the indefensible.”
He argued that the consequences extended beyond the original tweet, saying, “Those justifications, they’re leading to real consequences. Real crimes.” Fishman ultimately stated, “Dehumanizing people is never a joke. In this case, there was no joke. And the show was rightfully canceled.”
Barr’s Son Points To What Happened After The Cancellation
The dispute also showcased the complicated aftermath of the 2018 cancellation. After ABC ended the revival, the network launched “The Conners” with much of the same cast but without Roseanne Barr.
She relinquished her financial and creative rights so the spinoff could move forward, while Fishman remained part of the series until 2022.
Barr, meanwhile, publicly acknowledged the harm caused by her post. In a 2018 podcast with Rabbi Shmuley, she apologized for the hurt, noting per ABC News, “When you hurt people even unwillingly, there’s no excuse.”
Barr added, “I don’t want to run off and blather on with excuses. But I apologize to anyone who thought, or felt offended and who thought that I meant something that I, in fact, did not mean. It was my own ignorance, and there’s no excuse for that ignorance.”
Roseanne Barr Reveals What She Believed Was Behind Her Infamous Tweet
A few years later, Barr made the headlines when she did a 360 on her 2018 explanation and apology.
Speaking to Variety in June 2025, the comedian said she believed the decision was prompted by her faith, describing the moment as something she felt God had directed her to do.
“The way I feel about it is that God told me to do what I did, and it was a nuclear bomb,” she said, describing the backlash that followed.
Barr also recalled experiencing nightmares about losing her place on “Roseanne” before saying, “I was already having nightmares about never going back to that show [‘Roseanne’], and God woke me up.”
She said she believed the experience ultimately served a larger purpose, even though it destroyed the comeback she had built around the sitcom.
