Roseanne Barr faces backlash over Trump conspiracy theory tweet

Actress Roseanne Barr faced heavy criticism on social media this weekend after posting a tweet apparently indicating support for an online conspiracy theory claiming President Trump is involved in combating a global trafficking ring tied to the “deep state.”

In a tweet posted Friday night, the “Roseanne” star alleged that Trump was breaking up human trafficking rings and freeing “hundreds” of children in sex slavery around the world every month.

“President Trump has freed so many children held in bondage to pimps all over this world. Hundreds each month. He has broken up trafficking rings in high places everywhere. notice that. I disagree on some things, but give him benefit of doubt-4 now,” the actress wrote.

President Trump has freed so many children held in bondage to pimps all over this world. Hundreds each month. He has broken up trafficking rings in high places everywhere. notice that. I disagree on some things, but give him benefit of doubt-4 now.

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) March 30, 2018

Barr’s tweet was initially met with widespread confusion, with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman tweeting simply, “What?”

What? https://t.co/iVuJWFWT8o

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) March 31, 2018

Journalists quickly noted that Barr’s claim appeared to indicate her support for a conspiracy theory that alleges the existence of a massive child-trafficking ring linked to rogue elements in the government tied to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party.

{mosads}

The conspiracy has been traced to an anonymous user identified as “Q” or “QAnon” on the online message board 4Chan. Twitter users noted that Barr has mentioned Q in past tweets as recently as November.

The conspiracy theory is similar to the “Pizzagate” theory that led to a man firing shots inside a Washington, D.C., pizzeria in 2016 in an attempt to “investigate” the claims.

Barr’s tweet led to backlash from members of the media, Democrats and other public figures, including former Nixon White House counsel John Dean, who slammed Barr’s network, ABC, for giving her a platform.

Barr mirrors Trump’s supporters, b/c she is one. ABC’s going after these folks by reviving her series. Conspiracy theories coming? A complex world over simplified? Watch out Fox, real competition. There’s a race on for the most ignorant viewers! NPR listeners please don’t move! https://t.co/p3p3Z61xkh

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) March 31, 2018

Michael Tomaso, a former MSNBC producer, wrote back, calling the president that Barr was praising “fictional.”

“This fictional president sounds amazing! Especially compared to the real one who’s been repeatedly retweeting white supremacist linked groups the last two years,” he wrote.

This fictional president sounds amazing! Especially compared to the real one who’s been repeatedly retweeting white supremacist linked groups the last two years https://t.co/5qVp7pZxpa

— Michael Tomaso (@michaeltomaso) March 31, 2018

“Where is the evidence for this???? As far as I can tell this is completely untrue. Name times and places please,” wrote former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean.

Where is the evidence for this???? As far as I can tell this is completely untrue. Name times and places please. https://t.co/MdYxMK4gk8

— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) March 31, 2018

Despite the criticism, Barr later doubled down on the message, but said she would refrain from mentioning it further because it invited “bullying” from critics.

“i thought today was a good day to talk about freeing kids from sex slavery, since it is Passover. I didn’t realize that so many were not aware of it. Anyway, no more opinions from me on twitter, it invites bullying. Moving on,” she wrote in a tweet late Friday.

i thought today was a good day to talk about freeing kids from sex slavery, since it is Passover. I didn’t realize that so many were not aware of it. Anyway, no more opinions from me on twitter, it invites bullying. Moving on.

— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) March 31, 2018

Barr, an outspoken supporter of the president on social media, spoke with Trump as recently as Wednesday when the president called the actress to congratulate her on the ratings success of the reboot of her show, “Roseanne.”

The show prominently features Barr’s politics as a Trump supporter, while other members of her on-screen family tend to be more liberal.

“We just kind of had a private conversation but we talked about a lot of things and he’s just happy for me,” Barr later told ABC’s “Good Morning America” of the call.