Overview
- Michael Fishman posted a video on Instagram this week pushing back on commenters who say Roseanne Barr was unfairly fired and calling those defenses “ignorant and inaccurate.”
- He said there was “no joke” in Barr’s 2018 tweet and that ABC’s decision to cancel the revival was correct because the remarks dehumanized a person and caused damage.
- Fishman warned that justifying hateful language can lead to real-world harm, citing recent cases reporters have linked to dehumanizing rhetoric as examples of those consequences.
- He also said he still feels compassion for Barr, describing her as someone who made a grave mistake and saying he continues to care for her personally.
- The episode recalls ABC’s 2018 cancellation after Barr’s tweet about Valerie Jarrett and the network’s retooling of the project into The Conners, and it shows how the debate over accountability and free speech remains active on social media.