Actor Michael Fishman is sharing his unvarnished thoughts on the 2018 cancellation of ABC’s “Roseanne” revival series following a racist remark made by the show’s principal star, Roseanne Barr.

Fishman portrayed D.J. Conner ― the son of Barr’s character, Roseanne Conner ― on the original “Roseanne,” which aired from 1988 to 1997. He was among the many cast members to reprise his role on the 2018 revival.

In a video posted to Instagram on Monday, Fishman responded to a comment from one of his followers who defended Barr for making “the usual jokes a comedian makes,” only for America to “backstab” her.

Calling the comment “ignorant and inaccurate,” the 44-year-old actor explained, “I guess the world failed to learn the lesson, so I’m going to point out — we are perpetuating a lie, and people are using a political smoke screen to justify the indefensible.”

Pointing out that Barr herself deemed her remark “indefensible,” he said that while actors and comedians were entitled to freedom of speech in the U.S., “that doesn’t mean there’s no responsibility and no consequences.”

“Sadly, in this case, there was no joke,” he added. “And the show was rightfully canceled.”

The new “Roseanne” was a ratings smash when it premiered on ABC on March 27, 2018. Like the original, it was praised by critics as an honest portrayal of a white, blue-collar American family. Just days after the premiere, ABC announced it had renewed the series for a second season.

However, the network abruptly canceled “Roseanne” in late May of that year after Barr likened former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, who had served under President Barack Obama and is a Black woman, to an ape. She made the offensive statement amid a series of posts on X, which was then known as Twitter.

Fishman responded to ABC pulling the plug on “Roseanne” in a statement on social media in which he described Barr’s remark as “reprehensible and intolerable.”

“The words of one person do not exemplify the thinking of all involved,” he wrote. “I have always lived and taught my children to be inclusive.”

Barr, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, fired back at Fishman’s post, saying she “created the platform for that inclusivity and you know it.”

Fishman, along with his “Roseanne” co-stars Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Lecy Goranson and Laurie Metcalf, went on to appear in the spinoff series “The Conners,” which aired from 2018 to 2025. Barr did not appear on “The Conners,” but has nonetheless maintained her incendiary social media presence, where she recently took aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

At the conclusion of his video Monday, Fishman said he no longer planned to address the “Roseanne” controversy moving forward, and acknowledged he’ll always “have compassion and love” for Barr despite their differences.

“Good people make mistakes,” he said. “And I love the one who made this mistake. I always will.”

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