'Roseanne' bosses explain why they wanted to do controversial Muslim episode
And it was all Roseanne Barr's idea
And it was all Roseanne Barr's idea
And it was all Roseanne Barr's idea
The latest episode of "Roseanne," which premiered on May 8, was no different than any of its previous episodes in terms of the controversy and conversations they tend to cause.
Titled, "Go Cubs!" Roseanne spoke openly about her fear of Muslims as she was forced to confront her Islamophobia and her bias in a bid to help her granddaughter Mary.
In the episode, Roseanne needed to befriend her new neighbors, who happen to be Muslim, in order to use their Wi-Fi so that Mary could Skype her mom in Afghanistan.
Though Roseanne was initially scared and paranoid about the new residents and what they're doing in Lanford, the episode ultimately sees Roseanne recognize her own ignorance and later even comes to her neighbors' defense after Fatima is subjected to offensive comments.
Speaking about the decision to explore Roseanne's xenophobic views on the show in a new featurette, co-executive producer Dave Caplan has confirmed that the idea came from Barr herself – and that the actress was eager for her character to get her "comeuppance" too.
"Roseanne said, 'What if a Muslim family lives next door?' And all of the writers looked at each other for about five seconds and went, 'Yeah, we're doing that'," Caplan said.
"She starts from being very fearful from this family that moved in next door that she doesn't know and once she gets to know them she realizes there's probably more similarities than differences.
"And she was pretty clear about that she wanted to get a comeuppance for her own bias. That was her idea."
As for Roseanne herself, she added that she felt it would be a "relevant" topic to discuss, and that she wanted to "cut to the humanity" at the heart of the bigger issues.
"I want people to laugh. That's my main focus, is that it's funny," she added.
"And in the funny, it's kind of heartwarming. I just thought it would be really relevant for a show about immigrants and prejudice. So we find a way to cut to the humanity of each other."
It's a sentiment Roseanne echoed on her Twitter account too, sharing that her focus is on real issues and real people.