Roseanne Barr claims Donald Trump supports gay rights in awkward-as-hell interview
BURBANK, CA – MARCH 23: Roseanne Barr attends the premiere of ABC’s “Roseanne” at Walt Disney Studio Lot on March 23, 2018 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Comedian and Trump supporter Roseanne Barr has claimed that Donald Trump bickered with an interviewer over whether Donald Trump has helped gay people in America.
The comedy actress this week starred in the revival of her once-beloved sitcom Roseanne, which led the way in LGBT representation during its original run in the 1980s.
In the revival, Barr’s character Roseanne Conner is confirmed to be a Trump voter, like the actress herself.
On the publicity trail ahead of the show’s return, Barr spoke to the New York Times – and ended up in a bizarre argument about whether President Trump supports gay rights.
Actress Roseanne Barr (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
The NYT reporter had asked Barr: “Considering that Trump opposes many of the principles that you and Roseanne Conner have stood for, how can you support him?”
She responded: “No, he doesn’t, I don’t think he does. I don’t think so at all. I think he voices them quite well.”
The reporter clarified: “I’m thinking of abortion rights, same-sex marriage rights, labor protections —”
Barr cut in: “He doesn’t oppose same-sex marriage.”
When the reporter attempted to clarify that “he has not come out in favour of it”, Barr spat back: “He does. Yes, he does. He has said it several times, you know, that he’s not homophobic at all.”
A publicist then directed the actress to move the interview on from the topic.
Executive producer/actress Roseanne Barr of the television show Roseanne reacts onstage during the ABC Television/Disney portion of the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 8, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
But Barr appeared icily cold when the interviewer then asked about the original show’s LGBT representation, asking if it had “paved the way for the L.G.B.T. characters that followed”.
Barr responded: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask somebody else. It’s not up to me to say those things.”
Pushed again, she said: “I wouldn’t have taken the heat that I took if I didn’t think it was an important thing to do. Just like now.
“I’m taking a lot of heat, and if I didn’t think that I was right and that it was important, by God, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Despite her claims that President Trump has supported equal marriage, he has never expressed support for the ruling that brought same-sex marriage to all 50 states since becoming President.
The leader has also followed guidance from anti-LGBT lobbyists by appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court who oppose the equal marriage ruling – threatening to tip the balance towards rolling back equality if any liberal justices leave the bench.
Meanwhile, he has freed government departments to take anti-LGBT stances.
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The Justice Department has made the most dramatic attacks on LGBT equality under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with officials appearing in court to argue that discrimination against gay people should be legal, and seeking to undermine civil rights laws protecting LGBT people.
Trump has also pledged to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, a proposed Republican law that blocks the federal government from enforcing anti-discrimination protections or civil rights laws in cases where people acted based on “a sincerely held religious belief” in marriage.
As written, the bill states: “The Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as a union of one man and one woman”.
The Human Rights Campaign warns: “FADA would undermine core civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.
“This bill would undermine the government’s ability to enforce the federal protections that exist to protect LGBTQ people and their families.
“Under FADA, individuals, many businesses, and non-profit organizations—even those using taxpayer dollars contracting with the federal government—could openly violate non-discrimination policies or refuse to serve same-sex couples. As long as they claimed their actions are based on their belief about marriage, the government would have little recourse. “
