Hollywood veteran Roseanne Barr is not hesitant to say what’s on her mind. Fans of Roseanne’s podcast were sharply divided online after she discussed Elon Musk and the Anti-Defamation League in an episode that aired not long ago.
While acknowledging that Jews are not a homogeneous group, Barr stated on the podcast that, as a Jewish woman who “loves America and its values,” she believes that the ADL does not represent all Jews. She voiced her disapproval of the ADL’s stance on politics. Additionally included on the show was her son Jake Pentland, who expressed his belief that the majority of online antisemitism originates from left-wing individuals. Elon Musk was also defended by Barr and Pentland on the podcast.
Both Barr and her son asserted that the ADL’s and others’ efforts to censor Twitter are motivated more by a desire to stifle conservative discourse than by any genuine concern for Jewish people.
After referring to Barr as a “hate filled fat old hag,” one commenter implied that her ideas were irrelevant. She was referred to as “washed up” by some users and “bats* crazy” by another. But several users praised Barr’s remarks. While some have praised Barr as a “National Treasure,” others have said that the public is fortunate that she is “cutting through the bulls*” and speaking her mind.
The remarks follow a number of companies’ removal of ads from Twitter in November due to concerns over the level of hate speech on Musk’s platform. Among these advertisers were Disney, IBM, and Apple. Advertisers have demanded that Musk restrict the site, but Musk has stated that he will not comply. Nevertheless, Democrats have invested more than $1,000,000 on Twitter ads in the past few months, even though a number of well-known firms have removed their ads from the platform. Ironically, some of the same people who signed a petition denouncing Musk and Twitter for fostering hate speech and spreading false information have also invested tens of thousands of dollars in Twitter ads. Just before signing the letter, California Democrat Adam Schiff paid over $100,000 on Twitter ads.
