Roseanne Barr on her racist tweet: "I wish I'd worded it better"

Roseanne Barr told Sean Hannity that she is not a racist and neither is Donald Trump. Photo / AP

In Roseanne Barr's first TV interview since her ABC sitcom was cancelled for a racist tweet, the comedian has apologised for her "ill-worded" post and has insisted she is not a bigot.

During her hour-long interview on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel show yesterday, Barr lamented the damage done to her by her tweet about Valerie Jarrett, who was an adviser to Barack Obama when he was President.

"It cost me everything," Barr said. "I wish I worded it better."

In the tweet, Barr wrote the initials "vj" and the words "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby".

Hannity repeatedly urged Barr to apologise to Jarrett on air.

The comedian eventually did, saying that she was sorry for the poorly worded tweet.

She said she would tell Jarrett, "I'm sorry that you feel harm and hurt, I never meant that. I never meant to hurt anybody."

She repeated her assertion that she did not know Jarrett was black when she likened Jarrett to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and a Planet of the Apes actor.

Barr repeatedly said yesterday that her tweet was meant to address United States-Middle Eastern policy and had no racial overtones.

She said she was stunned by the negative reaction to the tweet, which Hannity noted was nearly universal.

"I am a creative genius, and this is not a good feeling for an artist to be treated this way, and it's not a good feeling for a citizen, either," she said.

Despite apologising at times, Barr also said she felt the tweet was being mischaracterised and she indicated she felt like she had apologised enough for her actions.

"I feel like I have apologised and explained and asked for forgiveness and made recompense," she said early in the interview. At another point, just before addressing Jarrett directly, Barr said, "I already have said I'm sorry for two months."

Barr, a supporter of President Donald Trump, brought him briefly into the conversation.

"I'm not a racist and the people who voted for Trump, they're not racist either, and Trump isn't a racist, sorry. We just have a different opinion," she said.

She said she could have fought ABC over her firing, but that she walked away from the hit reboot because she didn't want anybody to lose their jobs. She said her contract was supposed to allow her to correct any misstatements she made within 24 hours, but she wasn't given the opportunity.

The new version of Roseanne was an instant smash for ABC, owned by the Walt Disney, and was counted on to lead the network's fortunes next season.

Its debut episode last March was seen by more than 25 million people with delayed viewing counted in, numbers that are increasingly rare in network television.

ABC has announced that it will produce a Roseanne spinoff called The Conners that features John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert.

- AP