Drugmaker part of Roseanne's epic Twitter takedown

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A war of words ensued on Twitter after a series of tweets from American actress, comedian and TV producer Roseanne Barr, where she offered an apology, lashed out at her castmates and blamed her racially-charged tweet on the prescription drug Ambien.

In the aftermath of the racist and offensive tweet which targeted former US President Barack Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Barr appeared remorseful.

“@ValerieJarrett I want to apologize to you. I am very sorry to have hurt you,” she wrote.

“I hope you can accept this sincere apology!”

But Barr also retweeted a false quote that purports to be from Valerie Jarrett’s yearbook.

/ Twitter/@therealroseanne

Blame game

Hours after Barr unleashed the initial offensive tweet, ABC pulled the plug on her show, “Roseanne.” The sitcom revival was the most-watched television show in the US this season.

When her castmates started to voice their feelings about her tweet, Barr fired back.

To Michael Fishman who played her son "D.J.” on the show, she wrote, "I created the platform for that inclusivity and you know ME. You throw me under the bus. nice!"

Barr also fired off a tweet to Sara Gilbert, one of the show's stars and executive producers, writing “Wow! Unreal.” A few hours later, she added, "I understand her position and why she said what she said. I forgive her. It just shocked me a bit, but I indeed (expletive). ... She's distancing herself from me and my tweet – she has to."

Barr blamed consulting producer Wanda Sykes’ tweet announcing her departure from the show as the catalyst for ABC’s decision to cancel the sitcom, saying her tweet "made ABC very nervous and they canceled the show."

Actress Roseanne Barr waves on her arrival to the 75th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 7, 2018. / Reuters

Tweetstorm

The fallout did not stop with just the production cast and crew.

Barr’s ex-husband, actor Tom Arnold also chimed in with a tweet, “Ton of respect for Bob Iger. Tough decision with financial consequences for his company but right for America.”

Some people came to Barr’s defense, including British media personality, Katie Hopkins, who told Barr that she has nothing to feel sorry about.

"Never apologize @therealroseanne It only encourages the (expletive). Stand Strong," she wrote with the hashtag #MAGA.

An African-American fan of Barr also offered his support for the television actor.

“… Roseanne made a joke and got her show canceled! I guess a joke deemed as racist is a bigger issue to Democrats than blacks dying and that is pathetic! #IStandWithRoseanne”

/ Twitter/@ReelMFishman

'President calling out media bias'

Even the White House had something to say about Barr’s dismissal.

During Wednesday afternoon’s daily press briefing, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders why President Trump chose to focus on the ABC apology in his tweet, rather than “the underlying issue of concerns about a racist comment [Barr] tweeted out.”

Sanders, who had kept her answers to other questions relatively succinct, made a lengthy defense of Trump’s tweet, saying that “no one’s defending what she said,” Sanders said. “The president is simply calling out the media bias; no one’s defending what she said.”

/ Twitter/@ElderLansing

'I was ambien tweeting'

The comedian came to her own defense blaming her inappropriate tweet on a sleep aid.

“Guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting – it was memorial day too – I went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it, please. Thank you“

Barr’s comments caused the popular sedative to trend on Twitter – where users promptly mocked her.

The France-based pharmaceutical company that makes the drug issued this tweet.

“People of all races, religions, and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

/ Twitter/@therealroseanne

Adding fuel to the fire, Dictionary.com decided to troll Barr for her Ambien defense.

“The name Ambien is thought to come from the word ‘ambient’ or similar words in French. Ambient does not mean ‘prone to making racist comments,’ but it does mean ‘of the surrounding area or environment,’" they tweeted.

(With inputs from new agencies)

(Cover Photo: Actress Roseanne Barr reacts as she arrives at the 75th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 7, 2018. / Reuters)