Roseanne Barr Knocked Out for 'Ambien Tweeting' Defense: 'Quite a Few Side Effects but Racism Isn't One of Them'

Roseanne’s attempt at blaming Ambien for her racially-charged tweet did not go over well, with many people failing to find the link between the sleep-aid drug and her comments about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.

“Ambien has quite a few side effects but racism isn’t one of them. Even if Roseanne wanted to claim she had an Ambien blackout and was sleep tweeting, that racism had to come from somewhere deep within,” wrote surgeon Eugene Gu, MD on Twitter.

Ambien has quite a few side effects but racism isn’t one of them. Even if Roseanne wanted to claim she had an Ambien blackout and was sleep tweeting, that racism had to come from somewhere deep within.

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 30, 2018

Late Tuesday after ABC canceled “Roseanne,” Barr attempted to explain that she was “Ambien tweeting” at 2 a.m. “Guys I did something unforgiveable [sic] 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,” she wrote.

But many users weren’t buying that defense. “#Roseanne says she was on Ambien! Who knew the side effect for taken Ambien is racism! #TeamDl,” wrote comedian D.L. Hughley.

CNN’s Van Jones added: “I checked. And Ambien does NOT make you racist. ….. Nice try, though, @therealroseanne. #Roseanne.”

Some users wondered what other sleep-aid drugs would cause someone to make racially-charged statements. “Thank you, Roseanne. Now that I know Ambien causes overt racism, I’m going to stick with the subtle microaggressions of Nyquil,” said comedian Nick Jack Pappas.

Others noted how Barr’s tweet sounded the same as if she weren’t under the influence of the drug. “Odd. Roseanne tweeting on Ambien sounds just like Roseanne tweeting without Ambien. #RoseanneCancelled,” wrote Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress.

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