“Last Man Standing” star Tim Allen addressed Roseanne Barr being fired by ABC, saying at Fox’s TCA, “that’s not the Roseanne that I know.”
“You know, I go way back with Rosie and that’s not the Roseanne that I know,” Allen told reporters Thursday at the Television Critics Association press tour. “I don’t know how– my mother and I went through this. She goes, ‘What did she mean by that?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know.’ She was the most diverse and tolerant woman I’ve ever known for a long time. So whatever got in her head isn’t the Roseanne that I know.”
Roseanne’s offenses that led up to her being let go from TV’s top comedy included a “Planet of the Apes” remark about ex-Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett.
“It’s a very icy time,” Allen said of the current climate in Hollywood and the media. “We’ve gone backwards. There are things you can’t say. There’s things you shouldn’t say. And I’ve said, ‘Well who makes up these rules?’ As a stand-up comic it’s a very dangerous position for me to be in because I like pushing buttons. We’re all very sensitive.”
Asked specifically if he believes ABC firing Barr was a fitting punishment for the crime, Allen responded, “They had to do what they’ve got to do.”
ABC canceled Allen’s “Last Man Standing” in May 2017. A year later, Fox revived the Friday night sitcom. In June, ABC ordered a Barr-less version of “Roseanne,” which it is calling “The Conners.” That spinoff (of sorts) will debut this fall in the old “Roseanne” time slot, Tuesdays at 8/7c.