Metcalf starred alongside Barr on “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997, and then reprised her role for a 2018 revival.

Laurie Metcalf reveals the last time she spoke to ousted costar Roseanne Barr

Metcalf starred alongside Barr on "Roseanne" from 1988 to 1997, and then reprised her role for a 2018 revival.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

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April 29, 2026 4:58 p.m. ET

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Laurie Metcalf; Roseanne Barr. Credit:

- Laurie Metcalf reveals that she hasn’t spoken to ousted former costar Roseanne Barr since their series *Roseanne *was canceled.

- The pair reprised their role on a revival season in 2018, that was scrapped after Barr posted a tweet comparing Barack Obama’s former adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape.

- Metcalf and several castmates went on to join sequel series *The Connors*, which killed off Barr’s titular character.

It's been almost a decade since Laurie Metcalf and Roseanne Barr played sisters Jackie Harris and Roseanne Conner on *Roseanne*, and according to the former, it's been that long since they were last in touch.

Metcalf opened up about her relationship — or lack thereof — with Barr in a profile with *The New Yorker** *published on Monday, while reflecting on her decades-long career. During the interview, Metcalf revealed that she hasn't spoken with the disgraced comedienne since their popular, briefly revived sitcom was canceled at ABC in 2018. The cancelation came after Barr posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, the former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

"There's nothing controversial," Metcalf shared. "We just haven't spoken since we said goodbye at the end of the reboot." When asked if she was angry at Barr for blowing up the show, Metcalf laughed and told the outlet, "I don't even know how to answer that."

Shortly after Barr's fateful 2018 tweet, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said it was "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Prior to ABC's decision, Barr tried to do damage control by tweeting, "I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me—my joke was in bad taste."

Barr and Metcalf on the 'Roseanne' revival series.

Within three weeks of her social media post, the *Roseanne* reboot was overhauled without Barr — whose titular character was killed off — and rechristened *The Conners*.

*The New Yorker* reported that Metcalf was the last of the returning stars to join *The Conners, *including John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, and Michael Fishman. Gilbert, who starred on both shows as Roseanne's daughter, told the outlet, "We'd all had a personal relationship with Roseanne, and it was just not an easy decision for Laurie, or any of us."

*The Conners* rose from the ashes of *Roseanne*, controversially killing off Barr's character via an opioid overdose in order to focus on the extended Conner clan, including Goodman's Dan, Gilbert's Darlene, and Metcalf's Jackie.

The series ended its seven-season run last April, with a pair of episodes that * *described as seeking "to bring finality to Roseanne's death, honor the series' roots, and offer satisfying conclusions to (most) of the characters' journeys."

Laurie Metcalf credits beloved 'SNL' alum for writing her Emmy-winning 'Roseanne' scene tackling dad's death

'The Conners' ending: How the spinoff's series finale said goodbye to Roseanne (again)

Several months later, Goodman shared that he also hasn't spoken to Barr since their revival series ended in 2018.

In an interview with *The Hollywood Reporter**,* the actor was asked if he'd spoken to Barr about the *Conners* finale, in which his character visits the grave of Barr's character. Goodman said, "No. I'd rather doubt if she wants to talk to me. We haven't talked for about seven or eight years."

At the time that Barr's post on social media began making headlines, Goodman defended the comedienne, saying, "I'll put it this way, I was surprised at the [network's] response. And that's probably all I should say about it." He did add, "I know for a fact that she's not a racist."

Looking back on the moment during an appearance at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in 2023, Goodman addressed his prior support for his former costar, saying he had no regrets. "I remember attending some kind of junket where they saw the pilot, and then the interviews, and it just turned into an attack," he told *Variety*. "It made me really uncomfortable witnessing them go after Roseanne."

"Yeah, I felt bad for her. And then, yeah… I just feel terrible about the whole thing," he continued. "You know, we had a great time. And I love her. She's just her own person."

Metcalf in New York last September.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Despite their estranged relationship, Metcalf has fond memories of playing sisters with Barr during the first nine seasons of *Roseanne*'s original run from 1988 to 1997, and then again in the revived 10th season.

Admitting that she wasn't initially interested in doing a sitcom, Metcalf told *The New Yorker*, "I thought, *Oh, my God, I'm going to be typecast for the rest of my life*." She said she was also "intimidated" by Barr, because she was "self-made."

Eventually, their chemistry jelled. "On the page was a very strong sister relationship, which Roseanne has in real life," she said. "So my jumping-off point was to try to show that bond and then hit the jokes."

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Metcalf currently stars on Broadway in the revival of *Death of a Salesman*, opposite Nathan Lane. In EW's review of the revival, Metcalf is lauded as "a force of helpless nature in the role, fiercely defending her declining spouse. She is, quite sadly, the only one who sees the perma-boasting Willy as he wants to be seen, or at least how she feels he *deserves* to be seen."

She also stars in Netflix's *Big Mistakes*, which premiered April 9.

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