Roseanne Barr podcast episode pulled from YouTube due to ‘hate speech’ Holocaust comments
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Roseanne Barr’s appearance on comedian Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast has been removed from YouTube for violating its hate speech policies.
This week, a clip of the 70-year-old actor on the podcast went viral as she used the Holocaust and Jewish people to make a point about political propaganda.
“There’s such a thing as the truth and facts and we have to stick to them,” Barr told Von before adding: “And nobody died in the Holocaust either, that’s the truth. It should happen – 6 million Jews should die right now because they cause all the problems in the world. But it never happened.”
As of Friday (30 June), the 14 June episode of Von’s podcast is no longer available on YouTube. A message on the platform reads: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on hate speech.”
The Independent has contacted YouTube and Barr’s representatives for comment.
Barr clarified in the podcast that she was 100 per cent Jewish and added that “people should be glad” that Jews “control” the entertainment industry “because if Jews were not controlling Hollywood, all you’d have was f***in’ fishing shows”.
Her comments have been condemned by many, including Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organisation specialising in civil rights law.
“Sarcasm or not, Roseanne Barr’s comments about Jews and the Holocaust are reprehensible and irresponsible. This isn’t funny,” Greenblatt wrote in a statement.
“And shame on Theo Von for letting it go unchallenged and instead diving into conspiracy theories about Jews and Hollywood.”
In defence of his podcast guest, Von posted a four-minute clip of their conversation and claimed that her comments weren’t meant to be taken literally.
“Here is the full clip of Roseanne Barr obviously using sarcasm and satire,” he wrote. “She is a mensch [a Yiddish term for a person of integrity and morality] and one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.”
Here is the full clip of Roseanne Barr obviously using sarcasm and satire. She is a mensch and one of the funniest people i've ever met. pic.twitter.com/p0K6pWEqr8
— Theo Von (@TheoVon) June 27, 2023
Barr has become known to make controversial remarks in recent years.
Notably, the reboot of her hit Nineties sitcom, Roseanne, was cancelled in 2018 after she sent a racist tweet comparing one of Barack Obama’s aides, Valerie Jarrett, to a character from Planet of the Apes.
