Roseanne Barr debunked rumors on Saturday that she had suffered a heart attack, saying on Twitter that she was a “victim of a prank.”
“I’m fine,” the 66-year-old actress tweeted. “I’ve had no medical issues. I’m spending time at home with my family and relaxing.”
During a live segment on Periscope, radio host Lee Stranahan took a call from a listener claiming to be Barr’s assistant, who said that the comedian had suffered a heart attack and had been rushed to the hospital. Stranahan said the call had come from Barr’s phone, but that it had gone to voicemail when he called back. Barr responded on Twitter to the false rumors after receiving well wishes from fans who had heard about her alleged heart attack.
The reboot of Barr’s hit show “Roseanne” was cancelled back in May despite holding the top spot in the ratings for its time slot after she made a racially-charged comment on Twitter about former White House aide Valerie Jarrett. ABC announced the cancellation mere hours after the tweet had been sent.
“Roseanne” was replaced by a spinoff, “The Conners,” which stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and the rest of the original show’s cast except for Barr. The series began with her character dying of an opiate overdose. In a statement on Facebook, Barr called the manner of her character’s death “lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show.”