Roseanne Barr ‘disgusted’ by support for James Gunn after backlash over her racial slur

More than 290,000 people have signed a petition calling for Gunn to be reinstated by Disney 
Roseanne Barr went on Twitter to issue a lengthy apology, While telling fans not to defend her, she also retweeted their messages of support
Emma Powell25 July 2018
The Weekender

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Disgraced comedian Roseanne Bar has condemned the support James Gunn has received after he was sacked by Disney.

The director was dropped from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after tweets in which he joked about paedophilia resurfaced.

Stars including Selma Blair and Dave Bautista defended Gunn, while a petition to have Disney reinstate the director has amassed over 290,000 signatures.

Barr, whose show Roseanne was axed after she tweeted a racial slur about Barack Obama’s former advisor Valerie Jarrett, took aim at the support, saying she has been left “disgusted”.

She tweeted: “I’m disgusted to read all of the support for James Gunn’s paedophile jokes-as the same people supported blacklisting me for a joke they didn’t even understand (sic).”

Gunn was fired last week after right-wing news outlet The Daily Caller unearthed his tweets, in which he joked about rape, paedophilia and terror attacks.

Support: Chris Pratt and the stars of Guardians of the Galaxy have voiced their support for James Gunn
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

He defended himself in a Twitter statement saying he used to view himself as a “provocateur” who told jokes that were “outrageous and taboo”.

He wrote: “For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn’t living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.

“Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.”

Barr faced a backlash earlier this year for a tweet in which she compared Jarrett to the child of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.

She attempted to defend her comment by claiming she had no knowledge of Jarrett’s African-American heritage.

In a bizarre interview uploaded to her own YouTube channel she screamed: “I thought the b**** was white. I thought the b**** was white. F***.”

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