Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman
min read · September 24, 2025 · Entertainment

Roseanne Barr Slams ABC for 'Double Standard' in Jimmy Kimmel's Return

Roseanne Barr fiercely denounced the 'double standard' of ABC reinstating Jimmy Kimmel , seven years after the network fired her from her iconic sitcom

ROSEANNE BARR SLAMS ABC FOR DOUBLE STANDARD: "THEY RUINED MY LIFE, BUT JIMMY KIMMEL GETS A FREE PASS!"

In a scathing interview with TheScholarlyNote.com, Roseanne Barr unleashed her wrath on the network that once made her a household name. The fiery comedian, 72, accused ABC of playing favorites and showing a glaring double standard in their treatment of her compared to Jimmy Kimmel.

The drama unfolded after Kimmel's show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", was indefinitely suspended last week following his comment about the murder suspect being part of the "MAGA gang". The FCC chairman threatened to probe the show, but ABC backtracked and reinstated it just a day later. In contrast, Barr was axed from her own revival show in 2018 for a single tweet that many interpreted as racist.

Kimmel's suspension was met with an explosive outcry from Hollywood, and ABC backtracked, announcing this Monday that his show was coming back Tuesday

Barr's tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a former Obama official, was widely condemned by Hollywood and led to her being fired from the network. She has since claimed that she had no idea Jarrett was black and blamed the controversy on Ambien. However, ABC chief Channing Dungey, who has since worked with the Obamas, made it clear that Barr's tweet was the final straw.

But here's the thing: Kimmel himself used his monologue to blast Barr's tweet as "indefensible", saying it didn't sit well with ABC management or anyone with a brain. Yet, when it came to his own show being suspended, ABC had second thoughts and reinstated it just 24 hours later.

"IT'S A DOUBLE STANDARD, FOLKS!"

Barr and John Goodman 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 April

Roseanne Barr made her feelings clear in an explosive interview with TheScholarlyNote.com. "I got my whole life ruined, no forgiveness and all of my work stolen and called a racist for time and eternity," she said, still fuming about the aftermath of her tweet.

Barr pointed out that Kimmel himself has been accused of being a racist in the past, having done blackface on his old show "The Man Show". She also slammed ABC for protecting its lowest-rated shows while destroying its highest-rated ones, like hers. "They care more about their shareholders than about what's right," she alleged.

But the controversy doesn't stop there. Whoopi Goldberg was also suspended from "The View" in 2022 for saying that the Holocaust wasn't about racism because Nazis and Jews were both white. Yet, her show was allowed to continue with minimal backlash.

The original Roseanne series ran nine seasons from 1988 to 1997 and has been widely hailed as one of the finest sitcoms ever created; the cast are pictured in 1989

Barr has now praised Nexstar for refusing to carry Kimmel's show on its 32 ABC affiliates, calling it a victory for independent media. "They've broken away from the big boys and decentralized information – that's what America wants and needs," she said.

"THEY RUINED MY LIFE, BUT THEY WANTED ME BACK AS A GHOST!"

The tension between Roseanne Barr and ABC has been simmering since her show was cancelled in 2018. In a new documentary called "Roseanne Is America", Barr revealed the final indignity ABC subjected her to: they asked her to come back as a guest star on the show, but only if she appeared as a ghost.

The famously fiery comedian erupted when she received the offer. "You're asking me to come back to the show that you fing stole from me and killed my career, and now you want me to show up because you got s f*ing ratings?" she told ABC executives. "I'm gonna be bowling that week," she snarkily replied.

The drama surrounding Roseanne Barr and ABC is a reminder of the cutthroat world of Hollywood, where one misstep can lead to career ruin. But as Barr so aptly put it: "They ruined my life, but Jimmy Kimmel gets a free pass!"