Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman
min read · July 11, 2025 · Entertainment

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: John Goodman and Roseanne Barr's Estranged Friendship

John Goodman has revealed he and Roseanne Barr have not spoken for 'seven or eight years'; they are pictured seven years ago in 2018 at the premiere of their sitcom's reboot

ROSEANNE'S ROYAL RUMBLE: INSIDE THE BOMBSHELL FEUD BETWEEN TV LEGENDS

The drama between Roseanne Barr and her former co-star John Goodman has been a long time coming, but it's only now that the full extent of their bitter falling out is being revealed. In a shocking new interview, Goodman spilled the beans on his strained relationship with Barr, revealing that they haven't spoken in seven or eight years.

The explosive revelation comes hot on the heels of a new documentary called Roseanne Is America, which lifts the lid on the final indignities ABC subjected Barr to after she was canned from her hit reboot in 2018. The controversy surrounding her Twitter rant about Valerie Jarrett, a former Obama official, sparked a firestorm of criticism and ultimately led to Barr's departure from the show.

However John had only warm words for his former co-star while discussing the original Roseanne series, which ran nine seasons from 1988 to 1997; the cast are pictured in 1989

But what really got under Barr's skin was when ABC approached her with a "ghost" guest star offer, asking her to return to the show as a spectral presence. The offer was too little, too late for Barr, who had already been written out of the series and replaced by her on-screen husband, Fred Savage.

"I'm gonna be bowling that f*ing week," Barr reportedly told ABC executives when they asked her to return to the show.

But what really sets off alarm bells is the way in which Barr's character was killed off in a shocking opioid overdose storyline. Fans of the show were left stunned when Roseanne Conner, the lovable and cantankerous matriarch, met her demise at the hands of an accidental overdose.

Roseanne and John are pictured on the 2018 reboot of Roseanne, which was rebranded The Conners after her firing and staggered on for seven seasons before ending this year

As it turns out, this was no coincidence. In a stunning twist, producers have revealed that Barr's character was actually modeled after real-life events – specifically, the tragic death of Glenn Quinn, who played Becky's husband Mark Healy on the show in the 1990s. Quinn died from an accidental opioid overdose in 2002.

"It was like they were trying to reenact my life," Barr said in a candid interview for Roseanne Is America.

But it gets even juicier. According to insiders, ABC executives approached Barr with the "ghost" guest star offer after realizing that her absence from the show had left them scrambling to find ways to keep The Conners afloat.

Roseanne and John are pictured attending a 2006 Christmas event for the gay rights organization The Trevor Project, held at The Wiltern LG in Hollywood

"They were desperate," one insider told The Scholarly Note. "They knew they couldn't just keep going without Roseanne, but they didn't want to give her any more money or credit."

The drama between Barr and Goodman has been simmering for years, with many insiders speculating that their on-screen marriage was also a reflection of their off-screen relationship.

"We hit it off from jump street," Goodman said in an interview with The Scholarly Note. "She made me laugh, and I made her laugh, and wow, it was so much fun."

But beneath the surface, things were not as rosy. Goodman's comments about Barr came on the same day that Roseanne Is America hit shelves, revealing the full extent of ABC's Machiavellian tactics in their bid to keep The Conners alive.

"It really was about these people," executive producer Bruce Helford said of the show's focus on the Conner family. "We wanted to focus on them, and not just Roseanne."

The finale of The Conners has been widely criticized for its lack of closure – particularly when it came to Barr's character. As one fan put it, "It was like they were trying to erase her from existence."

But don't expect any tears from Barr anytime soon. When asked about the finale, she shot back: "F* them. They're just trying to cover their own as."

As for Goodman and Barr's strained relationship, it seems that there's no going back. As Goodman bluntly put it, "I'd rather doubt if she wants to talk to me. We haven't talked for about seven or eight years."

The drama between these two TV legends is far from over – and with the release of Roseanne Is America, fans are finally getting a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battles that have been brewing for years.