Fishman Defends ABC's Cancellation of Roseanne Revival

Michael Fishman, the actor who played D.J. Conner on the sitcom "Roseanne," has publicly defended ABC's decision to cancel the show's 2018 revival, pushing back against a fan who characterized the cancellation as an unfair backlash against comedian Roseanne Barr. In an Instagram video posted on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Fishman addressed a comment that claimed Barr was "backstabbed" and that the show was canceled due to "LGBTQ and woke" culture, calling such justifications "ignorant and inaccurate."

The controversy stems from a now-deleted tweet Barr posted in May 2018, in which she compared Valerie Jarrett, a Black former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, to an ape. The remark, which invoked a racist trope, led ABC to cancel the successful revival just months after its premiere. At the time, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey called Barr's statement "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values." Barr later apologized, calling her own comments "egregious and indefensible."

In his video, Fishman expressed frustration with ongoing attempts to reframe the incident. "For over eight years, I've been dealing with it quietly. Usually, I don't respond," he...