Roseanne Barr Claims 'God' is to Blame For Racist Tweet That Detonated Her Career — 'He Told Me What to Do!'
Roseanne Barr stands by her racist tweet that tanked her career.
June 10 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Roseanne Barr has zero regrets about the racist tweet she made against Valerie Jarrett in 2018 that derailed her decades-long career, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The controversial comedian, 72, claimed, "God told me to do what I did," while reflecting on her "nuclear bomb" social media post.
The Tweet Heard 'Round Hollywood
Barr claimed she was 'irate' before she posted the racist tweet
Seven years ago, over Memorial Day 2018, Barr was riding the high of the revival of her hit sitcom, Roseanne, which was gearing up for its second season.
Then her reputation – and career – came crashing down.
In a recent interview, Barr recalled the holiday weekend as well as the moment she decided to hit "send" on the now-infamous tweet.
Before she issued the tweet, Barr reportedly called the show's head writer, Bruce Helford, to discuss when she should plan on going to the writer's room to work on the second season.
Ambien and Alcohol
Barr recalled finding out she had been booted for the 'Roseanne' writer's room.
She recalled the phone call: "He said to me, 'Oh, the writers are already back, and we would love you to come by and say hello.'
"And when I heard it, I was like, 'F--- you. You’ve taken my writers' room for my second season. F--- you. I ain't coming back. F--- you.' And then I said, 'I'm gonna go out with the biggest bang that's ever hit this f------ show business, even if it kills me.'"
Barr, who had a mix of Ambien and alcohol in her system, tried to go to sleep, but she was soon jolted awake by "God."
'God Woke Me Up'
Barr insisted she did not know Valerie Jarrett is Black when she made the tweet.
The comic continued: "I was already having nightmares about never going back to that show, and God woke me up.
"I had my laptop there in bed, as always, and I opened it, and there was (an X post with) a picture of Valerie Jarrett next to Helena Bonham Carter in full makeup as Ari in 'Planet of the Apes,' and they looked like Xerox copies of each other, so I captioned it.
"This was in the middle of my three-month conversations with journalists in Iran who were telling me about the loss of women's rights there due to the Iran deal. And I was irate."
Jarrett was born in Iran and was heavily involved in the Obama administration's negotiations and later implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.
Barr re-shared the photo and captioned her post: "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."
No Remorse
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Barr said the tweet accomplished her 'intent.'
While Barr insists she had no idea at the time that Jarrett is Black, she still stands by her inflammatory post.
Despite the post tanking her lucrative TV career – with ABC canceling the show and suspending its award season bids – Barr has no regrets.
She said: "The way I feel about it is that God told me to do what I did, and it was a nuclear bomb.
"The day of my tweet, over 2 million Americans Googled Valerie Jarrett and the Iran deal. And that was my intent. So, whatever."
