EXCLUSIVE: 'Roseanne' Writers' Bitter Feud Erupts Over Sitcom Credit

'Roseanne' writers are locked in a bitter dispute over credit for the hit sitcom's success.
Nov. 11 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Tom Arnold annihilated Chuck Lorre – after the Two and a Half Men creator trashed him.
The vicious war of words exploded after Lorre claimed in his new memoir that he and other writers on the hit '80s-'90s sitcom Roseanne were "forced" to put Arnold's name on their scripts, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Tom Arnold Unleashes Fury on Lorre

Tom Arnold criticized Chuck Lorre on social media after the 'Two and a Half Men' creator made claims about him in his memoir.
Furious, Arnold – who was hired as a Roseanne writer in 1989 and married sitcom queen Roseanne Barr in 1990 – lashed back on social media.
Lorre "thinks he's brilliant [and] beloved like Norman Lear but Chuck 'Chuckles' Lorre's a terrible human, an angry dry drunk who lies every time he opens his mouth," Arnold posted on X on Oct. 15.
Arnold, 67, also wrote Lorre "made $800,000 off the backs of very talented women [and] a naive, cracked-up Charlie Sheen," and "then trashes them all to make him feel cool, but don't worry, Chuck hates himself more than we ever could."
He also sneered at the "lame" notes Lorre tacked on each episode.
Lorre is "a bitter hack who actually believes his lame vanity cards at the end of his name shows are Paddy Chayefsky worthy," Arnold wrote, referring to the Oscar-winning screenwriter of the 1976 classic Network.
According to his memoir, Sitcom, Lorre joined the Roseanne staff in 1990 just as writer Danny Jacobson was leaving after being "fired by Roseanne for being talented."
Lorre Accuses Arnold of Script Fraud

Chuck Lorre alleged that 'Roseanne' writers were required to put Tom Arnold's name on scripts they had written.
Jacobson – who went on to co-create the sitcom Mad About You – "showed me a sloppy, hand-scribbled couple of pages and explained this was a 'script' by the show's new executive producer, Tom Arnold," Lorre wrote.
"It had been part of Danny's job to write real scripts and put Tom's name on the front page – as if Tom had written them."
Lorre, 73, claimed he and other Roseanne writers were asked to do the same.
"Was it a portent of bad things to come? You tell me," Lorre added.
Roseanne and Arnold Claim They Fired Lorre


Roseanne Barr previously claimed she fired Chuck Lorre over his scripts, while Arnold also alleged he dismissed the writer.
Barr, 73, has insisted she "fired" Lorre because his scripts were stuffed with lines [that] could choke a f--king horse and render any actor who recites them stone cold soul dead."
Arnold has also claimed he fired Lorre, adding: "He's never forgiven me."



