Jake Pentland alleges ‘Roseanne’ cast conspired against Barr
Roseanne Barr’s son Jake Pentland attacked Michael Fishman after the actor defended ABC’s 2018 cancellation of the sitcom revival.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Jake Pentland Roseanne cast conspiracy claims have put an old TV fallout back in the spotlight. Roseanne Barr’s son alleged to TMZ that members of the sitcom’s cast worked to take the show from his mother after ABC canceled its 2018 revival.
The allegation followed an Instagram video from Michael Fishman, who played D.J. Conner, Barr’s on-screen son. TMZ reported that Fishman said ABC was right to cancel the revival and said Barr’s social-media post had caused real harm.
Pentland told TMZ he agreed that people had been harmed, but argued that Barr was the person who suffered. He alleged that the cast took her post out of context, failed to ask what she meant and blocked her from publicly defending herself.
Those claims are Pentland’s allegations. The reporting supplied does not establish that cast members coordinated against Barr, influenced ABC’s cancellation decision or prevented her from responding publicly.
Why did ABC cancel the ‘Roseanne’ revival?
The dispute traces back to May 2018, when Barr posted a message comparing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes,” according to TMZ. Barr later deleted the post and apologized.
ABC canceled the highly rated revival hours later, TMZ reported. The Washington Post reported in 2019 that the network and the show’s producers had spent months trying to curb Barr’s Twitter activity before the cancellation, citing interviews and messages it reviewed.
Fishman’s recent video was a response to people defending Barr’s conduct, according to a Yahoo-hosted report. He said he had largely kept quiet for more than eight years but was no longer willing to ignore messages he described as inaccurate. The report said Fishman continued to say he loves Barr while maintaining that the cancellation was justified.
What happened after ‘Roseanne’ was canceled?
ABC went on to make The Conners, a spinoff featuring much of the same cast without Barr. TMZ reported that Barr relinquished financial and creative rights so the new series could proceed.
Fishman stayed with The Conners until 2022, according to TMZ. The series concluded in April 2025.
Pentland also criticized Fishman personally in his comments to TMZ, portraying the actor as having betrayed the woman who helped launch his career. Fishman’s reported response in the available material was his video defending the cancellation; no response from other cast members to Pentland’s allegation was included.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.