Roseanne Barr Says She “Wasn’t in a Good, Mentally Balanced Place” Before Racist Tweet

Roseanne Barr again blamed Ambien for her mental state when she sent a racist tweet about former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett during the second part of an interview on Fox News’ Hannity, which aired Friday.

The first part of the interview was Barr’s first television appearance since she compared Jarrett to an ape on Twitter, a remark that got her fired from the ABC reboot of Roseanne.

During the second part of the interview, Barr discussed having dissociative identity disorder and feeling that it had flared up during her promotion of the Roseanne revival. “It was scary, Sean. I told ABC that I don’t feel like I’m in a good mentally balanced place,” she said.

Barr claimed that during promotion of the show she became “Ambien dependent” and would wake up finding Triscuits and cheese laid out in her kitchen that she couldn’t remember eating. She also said she found “eggs cracked on the wall” from attempts to make brownies. “Ambien does that to people,” said the comedian.

Barr first blamed Ambien for her original tweet, which compared Jarrett to an ape, the day she sent the tweet. “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication,” the drug’s manufacturer, Sanofi, wrote in response to her original claim.

During the second part of her Hannity appearance, Barr also said that after her tweet she promised ABC she would get her medications checked. “I don’t absorb vitamins and I found out I was really depleted and that affects your mental health,” she said, claiming she was supposed to go to the hospital every eight weeks to restore the vitamins.

“I wanted that show. I wanted a second season so bad that I worked myself almost to the end,” she said.

When Hannity asked her what was next for her, Barr joked, “Porn.” Then, in a more serious tone, she added, “I’m just loving doing stuff in my own studio. I do want to go back on tour and do my standup … I have a really diverse audience of fans and I’m really proud of that.”

During the first part of the interview, which aired Thursday, the comedian reiterated her recent claim that she did not know Jarrett’s race when she tweeted about her. “Her skin tone is like mine,” Barr told Hannity. “I didn’t know that she was African-American.” She also said she thought Jarrett, who was born in Iran, was Iranian.

Hannity seemed skeptical when Barr said her original tweet was a criticism of the Obama administration’s Iran policy and questioned why she “didn’t know better” after writing the comment.

“I didn’t [know better]. I made a mistake. It cost me everything, my life’s work. I wish I worded it better,” Barr said, reiterating that she has “apologized, explained and asked for forgiveness.”

Following her first interview with Hannity, Barr also recorded a live podcast with friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at the New York Comedy Club, where she said she believes she has been “forgiven” for the tweet.

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Roseanne Barr Doubles Down on Valerie Jarrett Race Excuse In Hannity Interview