Roseanne Barr’s Ambien Excuse Awakens Another Round of Backlash From Hollywood and Beyond
May 30, 2018Roseanne Barr's Ambien Excuse Awakens Another Round of Backlash From Hollywood and Beyond
"While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication," tweets the maker of Ambien.
Twitter is not sleeping on Roseanne Barr's bizarre excuse for a racist comment that resulted in the cancellation of her eponymous reboot "Roseanne." Turns out, side effects of blaming a drug for racism include over 238,000 tweets making fun of you.
In a since-deleted tweet after the termination of her titular show by ABC, the (former) sitcom star claimed she was "Ambien tweeting" when she wrote a racist comment comparing an African-American former White House adviser to an ape.
Twitter immediately erupted in outrage, shock and bewilderment that she would try to deflect obvious racism on the sleep drug. Even fellow Hollywood stars were quick to hop on the bandwagon, with Don Cheadle, Anna Kendrick, Pauley Perrette and Kumail Nanjiani weighing in.
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Barr's original tweet read, "It was two in the morning and I was Ambien tweeting — it was Memorial Day too — I went too far and do not want it defended; it was egregious, indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but… don't defend it please."
She later deleted that post and replaced it with another, in response to someone criticizing her Ambien excuse, claiming she was not blaming the drug, per se, for her original tweet.
no, i didnt i blamed myself. stop lying. Yes, I have had odd ambien experiences on tweeting late at night-like many other ppl do. I BLAME MYSELF OK? it's just an explanation not an excuse, Ok, bully?
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 30, 2018
Among those clapping back at the former sitcom star was Sanofi, the manufacturer of insomnia drug Ambien. In a perfectly dry and official statement, the pharmaceutical company made it very clear that racism is not a side effect of any of their drugs.
People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.
— Sanofi US (@SanofiUS) May 30, 2018
Even Wikipedia got in on the fun, though probably not at the behest of the company itself. The crowd-sourced Internet encyclopedia lets regular users update its entries, and someone did just that after Roseanne's Ambien excuse tweet. A new statement was added, updating the drug's side effects.
The addition, which has since been deleted, stated, "In 2018, the American Roseanne Barr made the public aware of a number of previously undisclosed side effects to Zolpidem (aka Ambien) including: racism, Trump-tweeting, anthem-spitting, unpatriotic crotch grabbing, public irritation, political agitation, sore losing, sore winning, special election upsets, butt-hurt, hate, avalanches, and loss of sitcom."
After the initial tweetstorm on Monday night, Barr had apologized and tweeted that she would not be returning to Twitter, but that didn't last the day. Overnight on Tuesday, she drafted several additional apologies, or "explanations," before deleting them and trying again. And while Barr's original Ambien-blaming tweet is gone, much like her deleted racist tweet, its legacy lives on.
Below are some of the best comments from Hollywood and beyond after Barr scapegoated Ambien for her racist tweet.
When you are awake at 4:30 in the morning for no GD reason and you check Twitter to find that (on the day you need her most) your good pal Ambien is being dragged through the mud pic.twitter.com/Uw7OB4ZYy1
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) May 30, 2018
I checked. And Ambien does NOT make you racist. ….. Nice try, though, @therealroseanne. #Roseanne
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) May 30, 2018
Pol Pot was on a lot of ambien.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) May 30, 2018
The name Ambien is thought to come from the word "ambient" or similar words in French. Ambient does not mean "prone to making racist comments," but it does mean "of the surrounding area or environment." https://t.co/UpYY5eKzIo https://t.co/XsPn8FthV5
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) May 30, 2018
ambien is a hell of a drug … https://t.co/QF4xWbMhDE
— Don Cheadle (@DonCheadle) May 30, 2018
Roseanne claims she was on Ambien at the time of her tweet. Sanofi-Aventis quickly amended their ads to include “may cause racism, ignorance, bigotry, support of authoritarians and demagogues, and loss of a hit television show. See your psychiatrist for assistance.”
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 30, 2018
Can you imagine how much Ambien Hitler must have been taking?
— andy lassner (@andylassner) May 30, 2018
Old adage:
“A sober mans thoughts are a drunk mans words” so
“A racist gals thoughts are Ambien’s words” Sorry #Roseanne Too much. And this? pic.twitter.com/phYmfmZesa— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) May 30, 2018
Ambien does not cause overt racism. Even minor racism. Check with your pharmacist if concerned. https://t.co/mkZQ5Oo9kd
— Dominic Mitchell (@DomMitchell) May 30, 2018
Ambien makes you racist? No wonder some of y’all can’t get woke. 😛
— Ashley Nicole Black (@ashleyn1cole) May 30, 2018
I have only taken Ambien once…but I don't remember one of the side-effects being racism.
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) May 30, 2018
Who among us hasn’t taken Ambien, sleepwalked down to the fridge, and posted dozens of racist tweets over several years
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) May 30, 2018
Ambien has quite a few side effects but racism isn’t one of them. Even if Roseanne wanted to claim she had an Ambien blackout and was sleep tweeting, that racism had to come from somewhere deep within.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 30, 2018
When I started taking Ambien I was a white woman.
— Justin Guarini (@JustinGuarini) May 30, 2018
early Ambien users pic.twitter.com/9P3Fltl7GU
— Bill Corbett (@BillCorbett) May 30, 2018
Ambien causes racism.
Pornography and too many exits cause school shootings.
Economic anxiety led to Trump's election.— Warren Leight (@warrenleightTV) May 30, 2018
The problem with Roseanne’s “Ambien” explanation is that sleep medicine doesn’t turn you into a racist
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) May 30, 2018
Announcer: "Oh, I’m sorry that’s IN-correct! The correct answer was Ambien!!! The cause of her racist tweet was not her racism, it was her *ambien*. But thanks for playing."
— Touré (@Toure) May 30, 2018
Wait…..Ritalin leads to school shootings and now #Ambien makes you a racist??? pic.twitter.com/sVsbroKwiv
— stable genius (@slgore76) May 30, 2018
Pharmacists' now checking with the FDA to see of #Ambien causes racism. 😂 pic.twitter.com/C7rQ1f0mUj
— Joanne ✊🏽🦋💗🔥 (@ChildPleez007) May 30, 2018
When you pop an #Ambien before the BBQ pic.twitter.com/vEvyGbazjO
— El Travs (@el_travs) May 30, 2018
guys i went and rewatched the ambien commercial and whoa pic.twitter.com/4AZ69Mdanf
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) May 30, 2018
Ask your doctor if blaming Ambien for your racism is right for you.
— Top Conservative Cat (@TeaPartyCat) May 30, 2018
Roseanne puts the “Ambien” in “I am bein’ racist”
— Eli Braden (@EliBraden) May 30, 2018
*side effects may include drowsiness, sudden lack of racism control, and loss of TV series. Do not operate keyboards or cell phones while taking Ambien. pic.twitter.com/5sqVQjwq52
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) May 30, 2018
It’s a rarely known fact, but Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 because he was taking #ambien.
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) May 30, 2018
Sitting down to watch Roseanne while on Ambien pic.twitter.com/rsNkST1v3W
— RICK STUDLY (@STUD6699) May 30, 2018
Ask your Klan leader if Ambien is right for you.
— Betty F*ckin' White (@BettyFckinWhite) May 30, 2018
You know what, I was skeptical at first, but I did a little poking around and maybe the Ambien defense checks out pic.twitter.com/yVrMtHy88j
— Luke O'Neil :/ (@lukeoneil47) May 30, 2018
{Mel Gibson slaps his forehead}
Ambien! Dammit …— Lloyd Rang (@lloydrang) May 30, 2018
ambien has to come out with a roseanne diss track now
— Chris Branch (@cbranch89) May 30, 2018
Good thing everyone on this red eye flight took Ambien Non-Racist or else a Klan rally might have broken out in baggage claim.
— Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) May 30, 2018
Official response from Ambien pic.twitter.com/k0IC75R1HI
— Kendra Jones (@Keedinah) May 30, 2018
“Sorry universe. I was on Ambien. I guess I just snapped” – Thanos pic.twitter.com/PGIwemtpNA
— James Keaton (@Mrfurious32821) May 30, 2018
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