Roseanne Barr says her 'Planet of the Apes' tweet was 'about anti-semitism'

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"Rod Serling wrote Planet of the Apes," Barr tweeted Wednesday night. "It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweed referred to - the anti-semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want.

Roseanne Barr on Wednesday continued to defend the tweet that got her show canceled at ABC, writing on Twitter that a derogatory message targeted at former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett was actually “about anti-semitism” rather than a racist insult.

“Rod Serling wrote Planet of the Apes,” Barr tweeted Wednesday night. “It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweed referred to — the anti-semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want.”

Serling, known for creating the Twilight Zone, wrote the script for the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. The script was adapted from a 1963 novel by author Pierre Boulle. Sterling was born to a Jewish family in Syracuse, New York in Dec. 1925, and later served in US Army in World War II, during which he was stationed in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. That experience as a veteran heavily influenced his work.

ABC canceled its Roseanne reboot last month following Barr’s tirade on Twitter in which she wrote that Jarrett was the result of a union between the “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes,” which was largely considered racist. Since then, Viacom has pulled old episodes of the show from distribution, and Barr was dropped by her agency, ICM Partners, among other backlash.

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement at the time.

In addition to defending her tweet on Wednesday, Barr also wrote that she is sleeping “without ambien,” the sleep drug she blamed for the initial tweet about Jarrett. However, the star wrote, she has “developed a bit of palsy” due to stress over the incident.

Barr also thanked supporters including Sean Hannity, Norm MacDonald, and Rosie O’Donnell for “helping me when I was broken,” and retweeted a happy birthday message for President Donald Trump, who turns 72 today. She added that she has lately been watching Malcolm X: An Overwhelming Influence on the Black Power Movement,” a new documentary from Thomas Muhammad, who served as Barr’s campaign manager during a presidential run in 2012.

“I have been planting trees digging in the earth singing and feeling a great deal of relief,” Barr tweeted. “I will begin to speak for myself in media soon.”

 

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