Roseanne Barr Responds To Criticism Over ‘Gender-Creative’ Child Character On ‘Roseanne’ Revival

Roseanne Barr seems to be enjoying the fireworks over the recent announcement that the revival of her classic ’80s sitcom, Roseanne, will include a “gender-creative” nine-year-old character. The Roseanne star has posted and retweeted several social media posts in the aftermath of a controversial casting call leak.

According to Fox News, a casting notice for Barr’s upcoming Roseanne reboot reveals the ABC sitcom is looking to cast a character named Mark, the nine-year-old son of longtime Roseanne sweethearts Darlene and David (Sara Gilbert, Johnny Galecki), who was named after his late Uncle Mark (played by Glenn Quinn, who died in 2002). The casting call reveals that little Mark will be a “gender creative” character, describing the child as “sensitive” and “effeminate” and displaying “qualities of both male and female young child traits.”

While ABC has not commented on the surprising casting notice—which, incidentally, would be a first for network TV—there has been a huge reaction on social media, with some critics slamming the idea of a “gender-creative” Conner grandchild.

After a few days of silence on the topic, Roseanne Barr has now made her feelings known about critics of the Mark character. Barr, who is very active on social media, retweeted a comment about the show’s casting news which said, “I think we should wait to see it before judging.”

Barr also reportedly responded to directly to a critic in a tweet. In a now-deleted post, Barr told the protester the storyline would not be what people think, according to Popzette.

Roseanne Barr also posted her own feelings on the topic. In a tweet that appears to be directed at critics of her show, Roseanne wrote:

“I like the word ‘a**hole’ bc it is very gender neutral.”

In addition to new characters like nine-year-old Mark, Barr has made it clear that nearly all of the original Roseanne characters will be back—including the kids from the final seasons of the show. Barr retweeted a fan comment that said, “I just hope that they have Darlene & David’s little girl on and Jerry Garcia Conner. Also Jackie’s son. Can’t leave out little kids.”

The original Roseanne aired from 1988 to 1997 on ABC. While fans have waited 20 years for a reunion or a reboot, for a long time it seemed impossible. Just last year, Barr told IndieWire she was done with scripted television and had no plans to reboot her old show or create a new one. At the time, Roseanne lamented that her brand of comedy was unappreciated by the young gatekeepers of today’s entertainment industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDMhiFGls48&t=7s

The Roseanne revival is slated for eight new episodes to air next spring on ABC.

[Featured Image by Matt Sayles/AP Images]