Tim Allen Thinks Roseanne is a Victim of an 'Icy Time' for Comedians
by EG
Last Man Standing star Tim Allen thinks American society has gone backwards since Lenny Bruce was arrested for being profane on stage. How else could you explain Roseanne Barr being fired for broadcasting an apparently racist comment over the internet? Read on for more of Allen's thoughts on the perils facing comedians today.
Add Tim Allen to the list of people who were surprised by the racist tweet that got his longtime friend Roseanne Barr fired from her show.
The comedian, appearing Thursday at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour to support his revived comedy Last Man Standing, told reporters after the panel that Barr's comment was not reflective of the person he has known for years.
"I go way back with Rosie, and that's not the Roseanne that I know," Allen told The Hollywood Reporter after the session. "She was the most diverse and tolerant woman I've ever known for a long time. So, whatever got in her head isn't the Roseanne that I know."
Allen, who like Barr has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, declined to address what he thought of ABC's decision to cancel Roseanne, which wrapped the season as the No. 1 comedy on all of TV. Instead, he used the question to weigh in on the state of comedy today.
"It's a very icy time. I've been a comedian for 38 years. What Lenny Bruce said at the Purple Onion in 1951 … we've gone backwards," he said. "There's things you can't say, there's things you shouldn't say. Who makes up these rules? As a stand-up comic, it's a very dangerous position for me to be in because I like pushing buttons. It's very sensitive. I don't know what Roseanne [meant] … but that's not the woman I know. Whatever came out of that, whatever she said by that, she is inclusive and tolerant. It's unfortunate."
When pressed to answer what he thought of ABC's decision to cancel Roseanne, Allen added: "They had to do what they had to do and that's their decision. I know Barr, and she's not that person."
For his part, Allen — who plays conservative Mike Baxter, the father of three girls, on the ABC-turned-Fox family comedy Last Man Standing — reiterated that ABC's decision to cancel his show had nothing to do with his politics. He reiterated ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey's May remarks that the cancellation for the network's second-most-watched comedy was based on ownership.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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