Roseanne Barr Says John Goodman Declined Meemaw Cameo

Efforts to reunite the original Roseanne cast for a new comedy have stalled after Roseanne Barr revealed that John Goodman declined a cameo in her upcoming sitcom, Meemaw: A Modern Day Fable. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published October 20, Barr, 73, also said she no longer communicates with Goodman or former co-star Laurie Metcalf.

Barr said her son contacted Goodman to ask him to appear in the independently financed project, but the actor turned down the invitation. The eight-episode, single-camera sitcom also features Randy Quaid, although Barr has yet to secure a distributor to air the series.

Explaining the unsuccessful attempt to bring Goodman into the production, Barr said, "My son called Goodman and asked him to do a cameo on 'Meemaw' and he declined," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedian also addressed her current relationships with Goodman and Metcalf, both of whom starred alongside her in the original sitcom. When asked how she gets along with the two actors, Barr replied, "I don't." After the interviewer said they had "assumed you guys were like a family," Barr responded, "I did too." USA TODAY said it contacted Goodman's representative for comment.

Barr's relationship with her former cast members has remained a subject of discussion since the original series ended and its revival was canceled. Roseanne initially ran from 1988 to 1997 for 10 seasons before returning for a revival in 2018.

ABC canceled the revival in 2018 after Barr posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a Black former adviser to President Barack Obama. The network's president described the post as "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values." Barr deleted the tweet and called it "egregious," while attributing the incident to the late hour and her use of the sleep medication Ambien. She later maintained that "it was not a racist tweet" and said she had believed Jarrett was white, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The fallout also affected the show's future and Barr's professional relationships. The series continued without her as The Conners, with Barr's character killed off in the premiere through an explanation that she had died off screen from a drug overdose.

The Conners ran from 2018 to 2025, completing seven seasons without Barr at the center of the story. The series retained the central characters from the original sitcom while shifting its focus to the remaining family members.

Goodman previously discussed his distance from Barr in a 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He said, "I'd rather doubt if she wants to talk to me" and added, "we haven't talked for about seven or eight years."

Despite the lack of contact, Goodman has publicly defended Barr in the years since ABC canceled the revival. In 2018, he told the Sunday Times, "I know for a fact that she's not a racist." He later expressed sadness about the situation in a 2023 interview with Variety.

"I just feel terrible about the whole thing," Goodman told Variety in 2023. "We had a great time. And I love her. She's just her own person."

Barr has also sought outside support to bring her new sitcom to an audience. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she had contacted Tesla CEO Elon Musk about Meemaw: A Modern Day Fable, but he "hasn't called me or returned my calls." The project remains without a confirmed distributor.