It's been over a year since The Conners aired its series finale on ABC, and DJ actor Michael Fishman is still dealing with comments related to the Roseanne Barr controversy. Yes, the one that got her original series cancelled, leading to the spinoff. He's been turning the cheek toward comments referencing the situation ever since, but recently decided to speak out.
The actor decided to highlight one comment in particular as he got into a long video on Instagram addressing the situation in full. Fishman said he's dealt with comments like this since the controversy first happened:
The comment references the event that led to Barr being booted from Roseanne, which started over on X. In a now-infamous post, Barr made comments about former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett, a woman of both African American and Iranian descent, comparing her looks to The Planet of the Apes. The comments drew backlash, and stars like Wanda Sykes publicly announced they would not return to the series.
For those who may not remember, The Conners handled Roseanne's sudden exit by killing off the character, having her pass from an opioid overdose. Regardless, the narrative clearly never died down for Barr, nor apparently for the actor who played DJ on the sitcom.
After showing the comment in his video, Michael Fishman started the video with this:
I get this every day. I get these kinds of ignorant and inaccurate comments daily. Mostly I try to ignore them. For over eight years, I’ve been dealing with it quietly. Usually, I don’t respond. But after eight years, turning the other cheek is really not helping. So, I guess the world failed to learn the lessons. So I’m gonna point it out, we are perpetuating a lie. And people are using a political smokescreen to justify the indefensible.
Michael Fishman isn't entertaining the idea that what his former co-star said was taken out of context or was mischaracterized in any way. But he sounds tired of getting hassled on social media, and felt the need to speak out about it. To be clear, he's not defending the "joke" Roseanne Barr made that led to the original iteration of her show becoming The Conners.
See, when we’re on stage as comedians, or on camera we have the freedom to say whatever we want, but that doesn’t mean there’s no responsibility and no consequences. The brilliant comedians, help us laugh at the darkest, darkest topics. So, sadly in this case there was no joke. And the show was rightfully cancelled. It’s the last time I’m really going to go into this. I was clear that day, and I’ve been clear every day since.
Michael Fishman transitioned in the video to talk about nuance, and how the real lesson of this controversy was that "Good people can make mistakes." Fishman said that he loved and still loves Roseanne Barr, and has made peace with her making a mistake and saying something out of line.
Good people make mistakes. And I love the one who made this mistake. I always will. I will always have compassion and love and I have shown it continuously. She helped the world understand that good people can make mistakes.
Fishman has remained steadfast in his support of Roseanne Barr as a person, despite what people frequently say to him online. He's also pointed out the good the original series did in the past, especially when it came to LGBTQ+ representation. His full take can be viewed below.
Michael Fishman is not the only actor from The Conners to still openly show compassion toward Roseanne Barr despite her past controversies. John Goodman has admitted that he felt uncomfortable hearing people attack his former co-star and that he wished her well.
As for Roseanne Barr, she had a "surprising," neutral response when she heard The Conners was ending. It was a drastic change compared to the early years after the controversy, when she called out former cast members including Sara Gilbert, whom she felt had betrayed her. Time passes, and things have changed, and per Fishman, he'd really like to stop hearing about it on his social media.
