Roseanne Barr Slams Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC Return As ‘Double Standard’

Roseanne Barr has condemned ABC’s decision to restore “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after a brief suspension, calling the network’s handling of the late-night host a “double standard” compared with the 2018 cancellation of her rebooted sitcom following a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. In a televised interview on Tuesday, Barr said: “I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness, all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity… It just shows how they think. It’s a double standard.” She contrasted her firing with Kimmel’s reinstatement six days after Disney, ABC’s parent, pulled his show over remarks tied to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Barr, 72, spoke as ABC moved Kimmel back onto its schedule for Tuesday night, a week after the company paused production “to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” saying some of Kimmel’s comments were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.” “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney said. Kimmel opened his comeback broadcast by insisting he had not intended to make light of Kirk’s killing and by criticizing what he called government intimidation of broadcasters. “Silencing comedians is anti-American,” he said.

Barr’s complaint turns on ABC’s response to her May 2018 tweet in which she described Jarrett as the product of the “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes,” a post the network called “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values” as it canceled the then-top-rated “Roseanne” revival the same day. Barr apologized and deleted the tweet but was removed from the series, which returned in the autumn as spinoff “The Conners” without her. “I’ve been called a racist for all time,” Barr said this week, arguing that ABC’s quick reversal for Kimmel underscored unequal treatment.

In her interview, Barr also pointed to Kimmel’s past use of blackface in comedy sketches as evidence that ABC applies inconsistent standards, noting that he “appeared in blackface… many times.” Kimmel apologized in 2020 for wearing makeup to impersonate NBA star Karl Malone and other Black figures during radio and television bits in the 1990s, calling those performances “embarrassing” and adding, “I apologize to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.”

Kimmel has said he did not intend to mock Kirk’s death or assign blame to any group, and on Tuesday night accused officials of trying to pressure broadcasters and affiliates to keep him off the air. The Guardian reported that he told viewers his suspension followed “government threats” and that attempts to remove him from television amounted to political bullying. Disney’s decision to reinstate the show did not resolve a dispute with major station owners: Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group said they would continue to pre-empt Kimmel on their ABC affiliates, leaving large parts of the country without the program even as it returned on ABC’s owned stations and streaming platforms.

Barr framed the episode in personal terms, contrasting Kimmel’s brief hiatus with her permanent removal seven years ago. “I got my whole life ruined,” she told NewsNation, a line repeated in multiple entertainment reports on Tuesday. She argued that network allies rally to protect favored personalities while condemning others, and she criticized ABC figures beyond Kimmel, citing older controversies involving on-air costume choices. Page Six and Entertainment Weekly summarized her comments and said Barr reiterated her longstanding claim that she had believed Jarrett was white when she wrote the 2018 tweet, a contention ABC rejected when it canceled the show.

The late-night host’s return followed a campaign by entertainers and advocacy groups who said the pause set a dangerous precedent. The American Civil Liberties Union published an open letter signed by more than 400 artists warning of a “dark moment for freedom of speech,” and urged Disney to restore the show after what the organization called unconstitutional threats against broadcasters. Reuters reported that Disney said on Monday the show would be back on the air Tuesday, six days after the suspension.

Even with Kimmel’s reinstatement, the fallout has widened ABC’s conflict with affiliates. Reuters said Nexstar and Sinclair together control more than 70 ABC stations, reaching roughly 23% of U.S. households; both companies announced they would keep the show off their schedules “for the foreseeable future,” with Sinclair filling the slot with local news. The Los Angeles Times said the standoff could test Disney’s relationship with key partners in the broadcast distribution chain.

In 2018, ABC executives cited brand standards and corporate values in ending Barr’s series hours after her tweet about Jarrett. The Associated Press said then-ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey labeled the comment “abhorrent,” while Disney chief executive Bob Iger wrote there was “only one thing to do.” Within weeks, ABC ordered “The Conners,” a continuation anchored by John Goodman and Sara Gilbert and produced without Barr’s involvement. Barr’s remarks this week relied on that history to argue that her case drew a harsher penalty than Kimmel’s, even as she acknowledged Kimmel had faced widespread criticism for his September monologue.

Barr has previously accused Kimmel of deriding her during the 2018 controversy. Fact-checking outlets reviewing social-media claims about that period note that while Kimmel called her tweet “indefensible” he also urged the public to “remember that mental health issues are real,” adding, “The Roseanne I know could probably use some compassion and help right now.” Those comments, made on Twitter the day after Barr’s show was canceled, drew both praise and criticism at the time.

The circumstances around Kimmel’s suspension are rooted in the political shock following Kirk’s shooting this month. Disney said it paused the program to avoid aggravating tensions, as opponents of the host accused him of smearing conservatives in remarks tied to the killing. In his return monologue, Kimmel said the suspected gunman “does not represent anyone” and emphasized that his words had been misconstrued. He also said attempts by officials to influence affiliate programming were unacceptable.

Barr’s comments arrived amid a broader conservative critique of Disney and ABC over editorial decisions. In her interview, she complained that she has been erased from mainstream discussions of television history and feminism and said ABC had shown leniency to personalities she considers ideologically aligned with its leadership. The Daily Beast and Page Six reported that she cited other high-profile controversies at the network to assert that consequences differ by figure, though neither outlet reported ABC responding directly to Barr’s characterization on Tuesday.

Kimmel’s 2020 apology for past blackface sketches remains part of the factual backdrop to Barr’s “double standard” claim. In a written statement then, Kimmel said he had been “reluctant” to address the issue but concluded that “delay was a mistake.” “There is nothing more important to me than your respect,” he said, adding that he had never intended the makeup to be anything “other than an imitation of a fellow human being.” Vanity Fair and ABC News carried the apology in full at the time.

Disney and ABC did not immediately comment on Barr’s latest remarks beyond Disney’s statement on Kimmel’s reinstatement. The ACLU’s campaign continued on Tuesday, urging sign-ons to the open letter; People magazine reported that Kimmel’s colleagues in late-night television expressed support for his return and framed the incident as a test of the industry’s tolerance for political humor under pressure. The Guardian said Kimmel’s monologue blended a clarification about his earlier comments with a warning that comedians should not be policed by officials.

Barr’s own account of 2018 has remained consistent: she apologized for the tweet, said she misunderstood Jarrett’s background and has argued that the network could have chosen a lesser penalty. ABC, citing the speed and severity of the backlash, canceled the hit revival the same day and moved on with a retooled series. The contrast she drew on Tuesday—between the permanence of her removal and the short duration of Kimmel’s suspension—formed the basis of her “double standard” charge as ABC sought to re-stabilize its late-night lineup under heightened political scrutiny.

As of Tuesday night, the immediate facts were fixed: Kimmel returned to the air on ABC’s owned stations and streaming services after a six-day pause; major affiliates in Nexstar and Sinclair kept him pre-empted in dozens of markets; and Barr, whose show was canceled in 2018 over a racist tweet, publicly attacked the network’s handling of the case as unfair. Whether ABC or Kimmel responds directly to Barr’s criticism was not clear, but Kimmel’s record shows he has previously described her tweet as “indefensible” while urging “compassion.” The network’s own record shows that in her case it opted for cancellation, and in his, a temporary suspension.