Michael Fishman has broken his silence on his rift with TV mom Roseanne Barr after she called him a “little f***ing worm” in a recent interview.
“I don’t need to address obvious lies or name calling,” Fishman, 44, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, September 24. “I choose to live, work, create, and share love. Trust in the truth. Walk with integrity.”
The rift between the Roseanne costars developed in May 2018 when ABC canceled a reboot of the classic sitcom in the wake of Barr’s tweets about former Barack Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett. Barr, 73, publicly apologized after she tweeted that Jarrett, 69, was the child of “Muslim brotherhood” and “Planet of the Apes,” though she later denied knowing the political adviser is African-American.
Fishman went on to join Roseanne costars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson in a revamped sitcom called The Conners, which aired on ABC from 2018 to 2025. (Fishman left his role on The Conners as Roseanne and Dan Conners’ son D.J. after season 4.)
In August, Fishman said the Roseanne reboot was “rightfully canceled,” adding, “The brilliant comedians help us laugh at the darkest, darkest topics. Sadly, in this case, there was no joke.”
Barr condemned Fishman during a recent appearance on the “Can’t Be Censored” podcast, claiming her former costar “f***ing doesn’t even f***ing know what I said.”
Calling Fishman a “brainwashed bigot,” she went on to say, “He hasn’t even taken the time to listen to what I say. And when he asked me to explain it to him — when I had already explained it 9,000 times — I told him, ‘Let me explain this to you, Michael. Go and f*** yourself and stay f***ed ’til the day you die.’”
Fishman initially stayed quiet about Barr’s tirade until he finally addressed the controversy via Instagram on Thursday.
“I know everyone wants a response to Roseanne’s comments and I’ve been clear where I stand, but while I have you, there is something I do want to say,” he began. “Thank you, Roseanne. Because after eight years, you said something that I was too loyal to say. Thank you for finally publicly admitting the truth that you and I, and your family, and your team and everyone around us has always known, which is I reached out to you the morning of the tweets, that I gave you the respect of asking for clarity and that I never turned my back.”
He went on to say, “I actually showed you compassion even though I vehemently disagreed with you.”
Fishman suggested there were aspects of his relationship with Barr that he has “painfully held quiet for her protection” since his childhood.
“I guess she gave you a glimpse into the darker side of my childhood,” he said. “It’s kind of fitting because you needed a fuller picture [since] you shared a lot of the brightest moments of my life.”
Insisting that he has “tremendous gratitude” for the years he spent working with Barr, Fishman added that “might have to” talk more about his experience working on Roseanne as a child actor.
“Now, it’s time to move on. It’s time to turn the page,” he said.
Fishman encouraged Barr to issue “a retraction or an apology” for her recent comments about him.
“A lot of the time it’s the people who taught us the values we live by, even if they resent them today,” he argued. “Hate, bigotry and politics have ripped families in this country apart. The rage, hate and alienation, I’m going to meet her and all the others with the capacity of my heart.”
Us has reached out to Barr’s representative for a comment.
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