Eight years after ABC blew up one of the biggest shows on television over a single Roseanne Barr tweet, apparently the Conner family still has some unfinished business. And this time it’s Roseanne’s real-life son versus her television son.
Jake Pentland, Barr’s son, has unloaded on Michael Fishman — who played D.J. Conner — after Fishman resurfaced the 2018 controversy and declared that the enormously successful Roseanne revival was “rightfully canceled.”
Pentland’s response? Not even close.
He told TMZ that he believes Barr’s castmates “conspired” to take the show away from his mother, alleging they twisted her infamous tweet out of context, never bothered asking her what she meant and prevented her from adequately defending herself.
“I wish him good luck in finding work one day,” Pentland said of Fishman. “Hopefully selling the woman responsible for his career out was worth it for him.”
The renewed battle began when Fishman responded to an Instagram commenter who argued that Barr had been “backstabbed” after years of entertaining America. Fishman wasn’t having it.
He called defenses of Barr’s 2018 tweet “ignorant and inaccurate” and argued that people were using politics as cover for something “indefensible.”
Barr’s original post targeted former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett with a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes. Barr apologized shortly afterward, calling it a “bad joke” and saying she should have known better.
Fishman now says there was nothing funny about it. “There was no joke,” he said, arguing instead that there was “damage and dehumanizing and perpetuating racial tropes.”
Fishman also made clear that his condemnation isn’t personal hatred.
Humanity crumbles when justify dehumanization and stay silent to suffering, inequality, exclusion, and oppression.
We can do better. I was shaped by the show I grew up on. Now I am building bigger. Words have consequences. pic.twitter.com/KXtaQevxvd— Michael Fishman (@ReelMFishman) August 10, 2026
He said he still loves Barr, always will, and believes “good people make mistakes.” But on ABC’s decision? “The show was rightfully canceled.”
Her son says Roseanne was the one who paid the real price. Pentland doesn’t deny that his mother’s tweet caused harm. His argument is about what happened afterward — and who ultimately lost what.
According to Pentland, Barr’s colleagues didn’t seek clarification from her before distancing themselves and, in his telling, participated in turning her own creation into a television franchise that continued without her.
There is an important piece of history here. After ABC canceled Roseanne, Barr reached an agreement with producer Tom Werner allowing the rest of the cast to continue as The Conners — without Barr receiving creative or financial participation in the new series.
And Barr publicly explained why she agreed. “I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved,” she said at the time.
Think about that for a moment. The woman whose name was on the show relinquished her stake so hundreds of other people could keep working.
The Conners then continued for seven seasons, finally ending in 2025.
Roseanne Conner? She was killed off with an opioid overdose.
Pentland’s anger isn’t difficult to understand. ABC didn’t simply discipline Barr or suspend production after the tweet. It canceled the revival within hours despite its blockbuster ratings. Barr’s talent agency dropped her. And eventually the fictional universe she helped create continued without her.
Meanwhile, Fishman sees the entire episode from almost exactly the opposite direction.
To him, the issue isn’t cancel culture or politics. It’s responsibility. “We have the freedom to say whatever we want,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean there’s no responsibility and no consequences.”
And after eight years of criticism from people who believe Barr was railroaded, Fishman has apparently had enough. “Be smart enough to just shut the hell up,” he told his followers.
Well.
Apparently Jake Pentland has decided not to take that particular advice.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- TMZ — Roseanne Barr’s son says cast conspired to take her show
- Entertainment Weekly — Roseanne Barr’s son slams Michael Fishman over ‘selling’ her out
- Page Six — Roseanne Barr’s son claims sitcom cast conspired to take show from her
- Page Six — Michael Fishman defends ‘Roseanne’ cancellation
- ABC News — ‘The Conners’ announced without Roseanne Barr
