Comedian Roseanne Barr apologised for her “ill-worded” Twitter post and insisted she was not a racist in her first TV interview since her ABC sitcom was cancelled.
During her hour-long interview on Sean Hannity’s Fox News Channel show on Thursday, Barr lamented the damage done to her by her tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to president Barack Obama.
“It cost me everything,” she said. “I wish I worded it better.”
Hannity repeatedly urged Barr to apologise to Ms Jarrett on air. The comedian eventually did, saying that she was sorry for the poorly worded tweet. She said she would tell Ms Jarrett: “I’m sorry that you feel harm and hurt, I never meant that. I never meant to hurt anybody.”
She repeated her assertion that she did not know Ms Jarrett was black when she likened her to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and a Planet of the Apes actor.
She repeatedly said that her tweet was meant to address US-Middle Eastern policy and had no racial overtones. She said she was stunned by the negative reaction to the tweet, which Hannity noted was nearly universal.
Barr also indicated she felt like she had apologised enough for her actions.
“I feel like I have apologised and explained and asked for forgiveness and made recompense,” she said early in the interview. At another point, just before addressing Ms Jarrett directly, she said: “I already have said I’m sorry for two months.”
Barr, a supporter of president Donald Trump, brought him briefly into the conversation.
“I’m not a racist and the people who voted for Trump, they’re not racist either, and Trump isn’t a racist, sorry. We just have a different opinion,” she said.
She said she could have fought ABC over her firing, but that she walked away from her hit reboot because she did not want anybody to lose their jobs.
She said her contract was supposed to allow her to correct any misstatements she made within 24 hours, but she was not given the opportunity.
ABC has announced it would produce a Roseanne spinoff called The Conners that features John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert.