Roseanne Barr Says Comics Didn't Stick Up for Her Because She's 'Just an Old Bitch'

Comedian and star of the now discontinued Roseanne, Barr and her #nofilter poor comic timing famously resulted in her shows cancelation; she had published a tweet comparing former Obama advisor, Valerie Jarrett, to the offspring of muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes. (She also accused Parkland shooting victim and gun control activist David Hogg of Nazi sympathies in a tweet sent out the night of Roseannes first revival episode)

Nothing can stop us, Barr tells Rogan, as the two comedians settle into a 2-hour conversationthe license for comics to make mistakes and be offensive being one of many topics. (The pair also broached overthrowing Irans government, AI control since Babylon, Kardashian butts, and why every time you look at a clock it ends in 11, ... so, the typical Joe Rogan Experience experience.)

Barr admitted that since the series' cancellation, shes been afraid to perform comedyand of progressives in the audience. It's an anti-PC sentiment that's been expressed by several other high-profile comedians recently (including Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr ) who also take issue with what they perceive to be audience over-sensitivity.

Thats when you start being not funny, explained Barr. Self-censorship, thats how they want us to be. They want us to always be like: should I say this or shouldnt I?

Rogan himself has also been the target of cautious criticism , and his on-show antics most famously, smoking the reefer with Elon Musk havent exactly garnered reputability ; its not just what Rogan says thats stirred up controversy, but what he does.

Rogan mentioned how a previous episode, 1357 with Ari Shaffir, was flagged by YouTube for depicting harmful or dangerous acts. (JRE claims they are one of the first channels to be issued the warning.)

The discussion caused plenty of groans and eye-rolls. Im so glad Im fucking old, said Barr, So Ill be passing away from this fucking realm soon enough. Barr said what offended her most was people. Im offended every fucking day of my fucking life at how goddamn stupid people are.

Barr, of course, hasn't been above the stupidity. After her Jarrett tweet, Barr even called herself an idiot who made a bad joke. She also said they she was on Ambien at the time. Barr was criticized for the response, and Ambien even released a statement saying racism isnt a side effect.

Rogan seems to think the whole thing was blown out of proportion. People need to understand whats happening there, he said. Whats happening there is a genius comic whos also on Ambien, smoking pot, drinking, and has legitimate brain injury. (Rogan is referring to a car accident when Barr was 16; she suffered a severe brain injury and was in the hospital for six months.)

Barr told Rogan about the pressure of the Roseanne role (They kept trying to make me be a symbol of something) and went on to reiterate an apology: Im sorry for allowing myself to become unwellmentallybecause I worked so hard, I didnt look out for myself.

Ive got more mental illness than youre average bear, Barr went on, explaining how shes dealt with bipolar disorder. Mental illness is terrifying. I think this whole thing is gonna move me to start talking more honestly about it. Of all the conversations in America, thats the most needed.

The segment ended with a call-out to her colleagues: Comics, be brave. Stick up for each other. If you guys had stuck up more for me, I think it woulda stopped. But you ignored it because you thought: shes just an old bitch, anyway.

And then the segment really ended ... with some biology:

RB: I think apes evolved from humans.

JR: You know theres actually a whole fossil record, right?

RB: They think they understand.

JR: They do it by carbon isotope dating.

RB: Im not going to accept it thats why they call it the theory of evolution.

Barr isn't the only one doing the groaning and eye-rolling now.