Anyone who’s ever been a kid — which amounts to most of us, save for any robots skimming through — knows that social trolls have been around for way longer than the Internet, and that they’re the worst. Sarah Chalke experienced her first slice of fame-based bullying after becoming the second actress to portray Becky Conner on Roseanne, though the experience seemingly ended in a more positive fashion than what we’re used to seeing online.
Chalke is returning to the 2026 TV schedule for ABC’s Scrubs revival, which aims to follow up on the unpopular series finale of yesteryear, and appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s On Me to hype it up. But outside of the hospital hijinks, the actress also reflected on her outside-the-norm rise to fame, including the fortunate experience of joining TV’s biggest comedy, albeit in its sixth season, and as a replacement for an actress that TV audiences were already very familiar with. (It’s in the Mount Rushmore of character-swaps alongside Bewitched’s Darren and Fresh Prince’s Aunt Viv.)
Joining Roseanne at 16 was a huge shift for Chalke, who said that she ran the risk of ruining her high school reputation by talking about being cast before the episodes were filmed. Once her eps as Becky started to air, things definitely changed, though not necessarily all for the better. Apparently some of her schoolmates thought that OG actress Lecy Goranson was the more preferable choice for Becky. In Chalke’s words:
I remember being at a Freedom Tibet rally, and someone coming up to me. I just kind of like had started and I just made some new friends, and I'm sitting with them, and they yelled at me and they were like, 'I like the first Becky way better!' And I was like, 'Okay, yeah, she was fantastic. I agree. She was great.'
Just when you think it's safe to let your guard down amongst new friends, that's the prime time for knuckleheads to rise up and attempt to ruin everything. And what a confusing piece of criticism for a younger actor, since it doesn't sound like the other kids were specifically railing on her portrayal as being bad on the show, but rather just voicing a preference for Goranson. It's hard to know how the teenage brain would take that particular brand of negatviity, since Chalke herself also kind of agreed with the sentiment in general.
Though most bullies just double-down on negative comments and behavior after the initial antagonism, Sarah Chalke experienced a different kind of follow up seemingly later that same day, when the kid who yelled judgmentally at her approached her and owned up to his actions with an apology.
And then he came back and he was like, 'Hey, I just wanna apologize. I've always just, like, wanted to yell at an actor, and you were here. And, uh, so I'm sorry, and I didn't mean it. And I was like, 'Oh, okay. Thank you for clarifying.'
Technically, getting any kind of vulnerable apology like that out of left field is almost as awkward for a teenager to respond to as the initial trolling. It just doesn't happen often without an authority figure stepping in and forcing the issue, and when it comes to online exchanges, contrition is a non-entity.
Granted, a more heartwarming version of this story would likely not have any negative comments involved at all, and in general, apologizing for being a crappy person doesn't tend to restore faith in humanity as much as just not being crappy in the first place. However, at a time when all forms of communication can turn volatile in a moment's notice, any form of relenting kindness is a win.
Chalke first joined Roseanne after Lecy Goranson exited the show to continue her formal education, having grown tired of the grind of TV filming. She inevitably returned to the show before its final season, and the show has poked fun at Becky’s dual nature in various ways. Chalke even returned for Roseanne’s revival season in a fun way, not as Becky but as Andrea, a woman who aims for Becky to be a surrogate mother. (Because they look so much alike, of course.)
Though that plan fell through due to Becky’s eggs not being in prime shape, Chalke returned again after the sitcom was rebranded as The Conners, for an episode that honored Glenn Quinn’s death. That whole experience led to a drunken one night stand that resulted in Beverly Rose, which itself sparked several storylines revolving around Becky becoming comfortable with being a mother, as well as going sober.
What kind of adult-geared subject matter will Sarah Chalke get into on Scrubs that presumably won't involve any cast member changes mid-season? Find out when the comedy returns to ABC on Wednesday, February 25, with new episodes streaming the next day via Hulu subscription.
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