John Goodman Says Roseanne Barr Is "Not A Racist" And Discusses Transition To 'The Conners'

Thankfully, it’s been a while since Roseanne Barr has said something publicly that has caused a bit of a stir. Sure, her social media presence is still a bit of a dumpster fire, but the damage she’s done to her career (and the career of plenty of other people) has long been dealt with. Now, as we approach the fall television season, we don’t have a new season of “Roseanne” to look forward to. No, we are awaiting the Barr-less “The Conners” to recover from this summer’s craziness.

READ MORE: ‘Black Earth Rising’ Trailer: John Goodman & ‘Chewing Gum’ Star Michaela Coel Star In New Political Thriller Series

And leading the way on this new revival of a canceled revival show is none other than John Goodman, as the patriarch of the titular family. Once killed off during the original run of “Roseanne,” Goodman has reaffirmed himself as Dan Conner, the loveable leader of the returning cast of characters. And in a new interview with The Times, the actor talks about what that means for the character’s marriage, as well as how the Barr debacle put him in a depressive state.

When asked how he felt after he heard the news of Barr’s controversial tweets and the ensuing cancelation of ABC’s #1-rated show, Goodman said, “I was broken-hearted, but I thought, ‘OK, it’s just show business, I’m going to let it go.’ But I went through a period, about a month, where I was very depressed. I’m a depressive anyway, so any excuse that I can get to lower myself, I will. But that had a great deal to do with it, more than I wanted to admit.”

Goodman has stayed noticeably quiet about the whole situation since the series was canceled and then revived (again) as “The Conners.” He was asked about the way that ABC swiftly canceled the series, and he replied, “I was surprised. I’ll put it this way, I was surprised at the response.”

He continues, “ And that’s probably all I should say about it.”

However, one thing that Goodman will talk about is how he defends Barr against claims that the obviously racist tweet made her an actual racist. “I know, I know, for a fact that she’s not a racist,” Goodman declares.

READ MORE: Watch Roseanne Barr Lose Her Mind About Controversial Tweet: “I THOUGHT THE B—- WAS WHITE!”

The actor does say that he sent Barr an email after she signed over the rights to the series so that it could continue on, but he has yet to get a response. And he’s not exactly sure what’s going to happen in the upcoming series without her. That being said he does know one thing — Barr’s character is going to be killed off.

“I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead,” said Goodman.

“The Conners” will debut on October 16.