Roseanne Barr Says Her Racist Tweet Was Actually Critical Of Anti-Semitism
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(JTA) — Rosanne Barr said her tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was not racist, but was critical of anti-Semitism and the Iran deal.
“Rod Serling wrote Planet of The Apes. It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweet referred to-the anti semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want,” she tweeted Wednesday evening.
Rod Serling wrote Planet of The Apes. It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweet referred to-the anti semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) June 14, 2018
The tweet came after a series of tweets in which she said she had been thinking about how her original Jarrett tweet, in which she called Jarrett the progeny of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes, had been misunderstood.
She wrote: “1) I want u all2 know I’m fine. I’ve been using this time2 reflect &2 gain insight on what I said & how it was misunderstood.. Needless2 say I’m NOT what people have accused me of! I’ve never practiced “RACISM” in my entire life & never will. Meantime…(next page);”
She continued in a second tweet: “Thomas Muhammad has agreed to speak for me, as he knows the work I have done in civil rights against racism ALL MY LIFE & understands my tweet was about Iran’s regime, not race.”
Barr then announced that Muhammad, who recently directed a new documentary about Malcom X and who was her campaign manager whole running for the Tea Party’s nomination for the 2012 Presidential election, would serve as her spokesman “as he knows the work I have done in civil rights against racism ALL MY LIFE & understands my tweet was about Iran’s regime, not race.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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