Roseanne Barr didn’t ask for money for The Conners to happen

Roseanne Barr is still talking, at least to one source, about some of the decisions she made leading up to the announcement of The Conners.

Speaking in a new interview with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach released on Wednesday, Barr made it clear that she didn’t “ask to be paid off” in order to let the spin-off series. Instead, she notes, “I asked for nothing, and I just stepped away…because that is penance. I put a lot of thought into it.” Barr was initially fired over a racist tweet that she posted mocking former President Obama staffer Valerie Jarrett.

Barr also said that she had even more sympathy for young actress Jayden Rey, who played her granddaughter on the series, saying that she wanted her to still have the job because she’s “great.”

Ultimately, all of these comments are well and good for Roseanne to make, but the real test when it comes to her commitment to these comments will come via this fall when The Conners premieres. Will she be supportive of the spin-off series, or do something to harm it in any way? This is something that still has to be considered given that it was social media that first landed the actress in hot water in the first place. It gives, but it can also very clearly take away.

We’ve noted this before, but we do think that The Conners is poised to get off to an enormous start in the ratings just because of the controversy. There will be an innate curiosity to see what the series is like without having Barr on board, so for at least one episode, the ratings will likely be through the roof. Beyond that, though, everything is a total toss-up since it remains to be seen if any of Roseanne’s fans, or anyone else, for that matter, will keep watching.