John Goodman Says Roseanne Will Be Killed Off In ‘The Connors’ Spinoff

In March, ABC revived its hit series Roseanne over two decades after the show’s end. The series, famous for portraying the lives of an American working class family, stepped on a lot of toes when both its protagonist and lead actress/creator Roseanne Barr came out as a Trump supporter. In May, Barr became even more steeped in controversy when she posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama. Barr has since apologized, been fired by ABC and waived her rights to her own creation so that the network could produce a spin-off series, The Connors with the rest of the cast. Former co-star John Goodman has finally broken his silence about the controversial tweet and his thoughts about how The Connors will proceed without Barr.

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In an interview with British magazine The Sunday Times, Goodman spoke about his feelings toward both the orginal series Roseanne and the revival. He said that he and Barr made a quick connection at the first audition and that he worked hard to make her laugh every day. When asked if the two were close, Goodman said, “We were work friends.” Goodman thought that Roseanne had something special to offer during its first six years, but said that the series went on for too long. After the series ended, however, Goodman missed it and was eager to rejoin his cast mates for the revival.

Goodman said that he was surprised at ABC’s reaction to Barr’s tweet and added, “I know, I know, for a fact that she’s not a racist.” He said that the series’ cancellation distressed him greatly. “I was broken-hearted, but I thought, ‘Ok, it’s just show business, I’m going to let it go.’ But I went through a period, about a month, where I was very depressed. Goodman has agreed to join The Connors, but ABC has not yet confirmed how the show will proceed without its lead actress. Goodman seems to think that the character Roseanne Connor will be killed off to explain her absence. When asked about how his character Dan Connor will fare, Goodman said, “It’s an unknown. I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead.”

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The Sunday Times asked Goodman if he had been in-touch with Barr since her departure from ABC. “She had to sign a paper saying that she relinquished all her rights to the show so that we could go on. I sent her an email and thanked her for that. I did not hear anything back, but she was going through hell at the time. And she’s still going through hell.” In spite of his sympathy for Barr’s current career situation, Goodman himself is not a Trump supporter. “He’s in it for himself,” the actor said.