Roseanne Barr apologises to Valerie Jarrett: 'I’m so sorry that you thought I was racist'

Roseanne Barr has said that the controversial tweet that led ABC her removal from the hugely popular sitcom Roseanne was a “mistake” and has cost her “everything”.

Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, the actor once again insisted that the message about Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett (“muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj”) was not meant to be racial but political.

“I was so sad that people thought it was racist,” Barr said during the hour-long interview – her first televised appearance since the show’s cancellation.

“That is a tweet asking for accountability from the previous administration about the Iran deal, which Valerie Jarrett is the author of.”

Barr also doubled-down on recent admissions that she previously believed Jarrett was not an African American, saying: “I thought she was Middle Eastern.”

The Washington Post notes how that Barr grew frustrated when Hannity kept drawing the questions back to the tweet, saying the message “cost me everything, my life’s work.”

“I just have to say this,” Barr said. “If you really think at the height of my power and my fame I would go ‘black people look like — I mean, it’s just, I wouldn’t — I am not stupid! That’s what they keep selling.

“Now, after they misquoted the tweet for weeks, now they don’t even include it and they go ‘Roseanne’s racist tweet.’ And they just keep shoving it down everybody’s throat.”

Barr also spoke about the upcoming Roseanne spin-off The Connors, saying that she and ABC had severed all financial ties so that the show could continue and people could keep their jobs.

Towards the interview’s conclusion, Barr also attempted to speak to Jarrett directly: “I’m so sorry that you thought I was racist and that you thought my tweet was racist, because it wasn’t, it was political. And I’m sorry for the misunderstanding that caused my ill-worded tweet.

“And I’m sorry that you feel harmed and hurt. And I never meant that and for that I apologise. I never meant to hurt anybody, or say anything negative about an entire race of people, which I think 30 years of my work can attest to.”

In a Youtube video, Barr recently claimed that the offending Tweet about Jarrett was not the reason she was fired by ABC, instead blaming her outspoken support of Trump. She has also claimed that she initially thought Jarrett was a white woman.

ABC previously issued a statement, reading: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”

Barr has said she “horribly regretted” sending out the tweet, but recently acknowledged she had been offered “many things” since being fired. “I almost already accepted one really good offer to go back on TV and I might do it,” she added. “But we’ll see.”

Roseanne’s first episode was watched live by over 18 million viewers, AMC’s highest-rated and most watched series this year, leading to the show being immediately renewed. The network has since begun work on the Roseanne spin-off The Conners, which will feature all the main cast minus Barr.