Roseanne Barr blamed her infamous tweet on a reaction to an insomnia drug.
Company states ‘racism’ not side effect of Ambien
NEW YORK — The maker of Ambien said Wednesday that “racism is not a known side effect” after Roseanne Barr cited the insomnia drug in explaining the tweet that led ABC to cancel her show.
Hours after ABC pulled the plug on “Roseanne” because of her offensive tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett — and quickly breaking a promise to stay off Twitter — the comedian was busy posting on the social media platform.
Barr tweeted that what she did was unforgivable and urged supporters not to defend her. She said of the Jarrett tweet, “It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting.”
The drugmaker Sanofi took to social media to say that “while all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”
Barr later tweeted that she has had odd experiences while taking the drug late at night. “I blame myself, not Ambien,” she tweeted.
“Roseanne” was an instant hit when it returned this spring after a two-decade hiatus. But after Barr’s tweet that likened Jarrett, who is black, to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and the “Planet of the Apes,” ABC canceled the show in a one-sentence statement from network entertainment president Channing Dungey. She called it “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”
Barr’s agent also dropped her and several services pulled “Roseanne” reruns.
Barr showed no signs of abandoning Twitter, engaging in a series of tweets that apologized to those who lost their jobs because of the “Roseanne” cancellation and expressed remorse she was being branded a racist. While asking not to be defended, she retweeted comments from supporters that attacked ABC and complained that conservatives are treated more harshly than liberals for their behavior.
Barr was resoundingly condemned Tuesday, including from many who helped make her show successful.
“Roseanne” was the week’s mostwatched comedy on television for what suddenly became its final episode.
The series reached 10.58 million last Tuesday, second only to the CBS drama “NCIS” in the weekly Nielsen rankings.