Roseanne Barr – who was booted from her ABC show for a vile, racist, anti-Semitic tweetstorm – will team with an anti-woke retail company to launch a show on Elon Musk’s rebranded platform X, On The Money has learned.
Barr, 69, was signed to a six-figure deal by Publicsq, an online marketplace that counts Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor and investor and bills itself as Amazon for conservatives. The company, which went public via SPAC last month, will be the exclusive sponsor for whatever comes out of the comedian’s often foul mouth when the show debuts this month.
It could involve a written monologue or sketch comedy, be at least a half hour long and air monthly, sources said.
No matter the format, it is sure to be provocative – and just what the self-avowed free speech absolutist Musk is looking for as he seeks to bring more original content to the site formerly known as Twitter.
“We’re followers of Elon and it’s pretty evident to us that whatever we want goes,” Barr told On The Money.
“It’s a great way for people to fight back against totalitarianism,” she added.
Sources with knowledge of how the union of these strangest of bedfellows came together point to YouTube’s decision to remove a video from its website in which Barr joked about holocaust denialism and Jews controlling the media.
YouTube said the video — which was uploaded to comedian Theo Von’s channel — violated its hate speech policies and prevented him from uploading new content for a week.
Amid the controversy, Musk backed Von’s support for Barr and chimed in, “Comedy is legal on this platform!”
Enter Publicsq, founded by CEO Michael Seifert in 2021 with the aim of becoming the next big online shopping destination. There’s one twist. For businesses to get on the app, they’re required to commit to values like “freedom,” “family,” and “the Constitution.”
Aside from its close ties to Trump Jr., Publicsq’s board of directors includes former Republican Arizona US Senate nominee Blake Masters, Vice President Mike Pence’s former chief of staff Nick Ayers, and the founder and CEO of Farvahar Partners Omeed Malik.
The company has found a niche in sponsoring people and programs with a strong following who have been “canceled” by popular culture.
Earlier this year, it stepped in as a last-minute sponsor for a charity event hosted by Buffalo Bills player Jordan Poyer after others pulled out because the NFL star said it would be held at a Trump golf course.
So Seifert decided it was worth taking a chance on the outspoken Barr – notwithstanding her infamous 2018 tweets likening former Barack Obama deputy Valerie Jarrett to an ape and calling George Soros a “Nazi,” which led to ABC firing her from the reboot of the long-running hit “Roseanne.”
“PublicSq proudly stands for free speech and against the cancellation of dissenting voices. We are beyond excited to partner with Roseanne Barr on her new monthly special. PublicSq will continue to honor America’s free speech values that so many corporate behemoths ignore,” Seifert said in a statement.
While neither Barr nor Publicsq has spoken with anyone at X about possible limits on what topics the comedian will tackle, they said they believe their new program will be in line with the site’s moderation policy.
“Elon’s push since he bought Twitter is all about free speech — he stands by comedy, which is a crucial part of the First Amendment,” Barr’s son Jack Pentland told On The Money.
He added that the show will be “funnier than programs on other platforms” since X is “the only platform that allows free speech.”
Musk’s bid to turn the app into a full-fledged digital town square has included giving Tucker Carlson a show and helping to launch Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential run.
He has also attempted to lure left-leaning voices like fired CNN anchor Don Lemon and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
“It’d be great to have [Rachel] @maddow, @donlemon, & others on the left put their shows on this platform. No exclusivity or legal docs required!” he tweeted June 8.
The platform now lets users post long form texts and videos that run several hours. It also launched tools that promise to give content creators a slice of the ad revenue.
Even as Musk invites all kinds of creators, the company has tried to thread the needle delicately between allowing free speech and limiting hate speech so as not to chase away advertisers.
Since Musk bought the online platform for $44 billion last October, the company has lost 50% of its ad dollars, Musk tweeted last month.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
