Overview
- Fishman posted an Instagram video this week responding to a fan who said the 2018 reboot was unfairly canceled and called those defenses "ignorant and inaccurate."
- He reiterated that ABC canceled the revival after Roseanne Barr compared Valerie Jarrett to an ape and said the network's decision was justified because the remark caused damage and dehumanized people.
- Fishman reminded viewers that free speech carries consequences and cited recent cases such as Trey Reed and Tasia Fortune to argue that dehumanizing rhetoric can lead to real crimes and harms.
- At the same time, he said he still feels compassion for Barr and described her remark as a mistake while maintaining that there was no joke in the tweet.
- The exchange underscores that fan arguments framing the cancellation as political persist years later even though ABC retooled the series as The Conners, which ran from 2018 to 2025 and included Fishman on multiple seasons.