Roseanne Barr says she plans to take a trip to the Holy Land when "The Conners" — a spin-off featuring her "Roseanne" cast members John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman — premieres this fall.
During an appearance on the Rabbi Shmuley Boteach Podcast, the actress discussed the "Roseanne" spinoff, which was announced after ABC abruptly pulled the plug on her namesake show — which premiered to record ratings in March — hours after the star went on a racist Twitter rampage, during which she likened former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an "ape."
"I'm not going to curse it or bless it," Barr said of the upcoming spin-off. "I'm staying neutral – that's what I do. I'm staying neutral. I'm staying away from it – not wishing bad on anyone. And I don't wish good for my enemies. I don't. I can't. I just stay neutral. That's what I got to do. I have some mental health issues of depression and stuff. I got to stay in the middle, or I'll go dark. And I don't want to go dark again. I've done it. After all, I was married to Tom Arnold."
The actress and fervent Israel supporter said she would be taking a trip to the land of Milk and Honey when the show debuts in October.
"I have an opportunity to go to Israel for a few months and study with my favorite teachers over there, and that's where I'm going to go and probably move somewhere there and study with my favorite teachers," she said. "I have saved a few pennies, and I'm so lucky I can go. It's my great joy and privilege to be a Jewish woman."
The actress also discussed the immediate backlash that followed her since-deleted tweet, revealing that her friends told her she "made a fatal mistake" by apologizing to Jarrett. (In her apology, Barr admitted the joke was in poor taste and defended her choice of words by tweeting that she was under the influence of the sleeping pill Ambien)
"My friends told me in the beginning, they said, 'Oh my God, you've made a fatal mistake, and it's all over YouTube, a lot of people are saying it,'" Barr said. "They said, 'You made a fatal mistake . . . apologizing to the left.' Once you apologize to them they never forgive, they just try to beat you down until you don't exist. That's how they do things. They don't accept apologies."
"People were so angry, and I have to say a little bit ill-informed about me – that they would put me in the same box where they have people who call for the death of all Jews and want to enslave all black people. [The same box as] real racists that actually exist," she continued. "They put me in a box with them. And how do they think that's going to affect me? They don't think– they're under mind control."
The network hasn't revealed the fate of Barr's character, simply announcing a 10-episode effort that will follow "the Conner family who, after a sudden turn of events, are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before."
But in a recent profile with The Times of London, John Goodman, who plays Dan Conner, seemed to reveal the fate of Roseanne when he told the outlet that his character would be "mopey and sad because his wife's dead."
"The Conners" premieres Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC.
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