“Roseanne” star Sarah Chalke, who stepped into the role of Becky Conner in 1993, faced many challenges on and off the set.
During an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s on Me” podcast, the 49-year-old actress opened up about the “intense” set dynamics among the cast and writers.
“I think the only reason that I was able to actually even go and do the job was because I was so naive, and I didn’t actually get it,” said Chalke, who replaced the original Becky — portrayed by Lecy Goranson — in 1993. “I mean, I got it a little bit. I didn’t really get it in the same way that I would now, in terms of like potentially the pressure cooker that that situation was. I think I didn’t fully comprehend.”
When Ferguson brought up the “tension” between the writers and show co-creator Roseanne Barr, Chalke said the on-set vibe was unhinged.
“It was insane. Writers got fired, it was like in groups,” she said. “It was a pressure cooker.”
After the casting change, Chalke said she received mixed reactions.
“[One person was] like, ‘I like the first Becky way better,’” she told Ferguson. “And I was like, ‘OK, yeah. She was fantastic. I agree. She was great.’”
After playing Dan and Roseanne Conner on “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1998, John Goodman and Barr agreed to do a reboot of the show with the same name.
The nine-episode first season aired from March through May 2018, but that summer, Barr made a series of controversial comments about Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Barack Obama, and she was fired from the show.
Barr disputed the claims and apologized for making a “bad joke.”
Because the reboot was successful, the network made the decision to change the title from “Roseanne” to “The Conners,” and Barr’s disappearance was explained by an off-screen death.
In her documentary, “Roseanne Barr is America,” the comedian opened up about the downfall that stemmed from her controversial 2018 tweets and explained why she turned down ABC’s alleged offer to return to “The Conners” after being fired.
“They called me and asked me if I would like to come back as a guest star. You’re coming back as a ghost,” Barr said in the documentary. “You’re asking me to come back to the show that you f—ing stole from me and killed my a–, and now you want me to show up because you got s— f—ing ratings and play a ghost?”
Barr said she immediately turned down the offer.
“I’m gonna be bowling that f—ing week,” she recalled saying.
Representatives for ABC and Barr did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time. People reported that Barr’s claims about the offer were false.
After the tweet scandal, Barr sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“I feel like I have apologized and explained and asked for forgiveness and made recompense, that’s part of my religion,” she said at the time. “I was so sad, and I’m so sad that anyone thinks that of me,” she added. “I never meant to hurt anybody or say anything negative about an entire race of people.”
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