Los Angeles, Aug 3 (IANS) Actor Tim Allen has spoken out in defence of the actress-comedian Roseanne Barr he once knew.
"I go away back with Rosie and that's not the Rosie I know," Allen, 65, told reporters on Thursday at the Television Critics Association's press tour when asked about Roseanne's firing from ABC in May over her racist tweet comparing Valerie Jarrett to an ape.
"She was the most diverse and tolerant woman I've ever known for a long time. Whatever got in her head, isn't the Roseanne I know," reports people.com.
"It's a very icy time. I'm a veteran comedian for 38 years and I've never seen it, like Lenny Bruce said at the Purple Onion, 'We've gone backwards.' There are things you can't say. There are things you shouldn't say.
"Who makes up these rules? And as a stand-up comic, it's a dangerous position to be in because I like pushing buttons. It's unfortunate," Allen added.
However, when it comes to ABC's decision to cancel Roseanne, Allen said, "They had to do what they had to do and it's their decision."
In addition to being friends and fellow comedians, Allen can certainly relate to Barr considering his own conservative ABC show "Last Mind Standing", a series about a traditional American father and his family in Denver, Colorado, was cancelled after six seasons in 2017.
"I've worked for ABC for years... I don't really believe it was a political decision. I think it was a financial decision... I thought it was done very poorly, that's my point of view. I was heartbroken," Allen said on Thursday.
