Despite saying last month that she wouldn't watch The Conners, Roseanne Barr came out swinging Tuesday night following the premiere of the Roseanne spinoff, proclaiming on Twitter, "I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!"

She followed that with the release of a joint statement with her longtime rabbi Shumley Boteach that decries the way in which her character, Roseanne Conner, was written out of the show. The series premiere picks up weeks after Roseanne's death from what is initially believed to be a heart attack. However, it's soon revealed to have been due to an overdose of painkillers, which picks up on a thread from the Roseanne revival, in which the character became addicted to opioids following knee surgery.

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“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne’s cherished colleagues," the statement reads, in part, "we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show. [...] This was a choice the network did not have to make."

I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) October 17, 2018

ABC swiftly canceled the hit revival in May following Barr's racist tweet attacking Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Obama. Amid mounting criticism, Barr apologized and pledged to leave Twitter, but didn't. She has repeatedly claimed she was unaware that Jarrett is African-American. ABC promptly began development of The Conners, a spinoff featuring all of the stars of the Roseanne revival, except for Barr, who doesn't benefit financially from the new series.

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Characterizing Roseanne as "the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society," the statement by Barr and Boteach criticized ABC for its unwillingness to forgive: "After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness. In a hyper-partisan climate, people will sometimes make the mistake of speaking with words that do not truly reflect who they are. However, it is the power of forgiveness that defines our humanity."


Airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, The Conners stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Maya Lynne Robinson.