Tom Arnold is dishing on his ex-wife Roseanne Barr before the "Roseanne" revival is due to premiere. (REUTERS)
Tom Arnold is dishing on his ex-wife Roseanne Barr.
The 59-year-old star claimed in a review for The Hollywood Reporter of the upcoming “Roseanne” revival that Barr told him not to date actress Laurie Metcalf, who plays Barr’s sister, when he was working as a writer on the show in 1988.
“One night while partying during pilot week in 1988, Roseanne, who was in the front seat with [John] Goodman, noticed me holding Laurie’s hand in back,” Arnold wrote in the article, which was published Monday. “The next morning she called me into her office and told me, “Writers cannot date actors. That’s a rule of show business.”’
Arnold said Barr made the comment just two years before the pair got married, noting they divorced after four years.
ROSEANNE BARR: REBOOT WILL TACKLE HEALTHCARE, OPIOIDS AND DIFFERENT CULTURES
“Who was I to break a rule of show business?” he recalled thinking at the time.
Arnold, who said he held various roles – from writer to producer – with the show before he was fired by Barr in 1994, admitted he was a Metcalf super fan both “personally and professionally.”
“Laurie is a tour de force,” he said in his review. “She could carry this show. She could carry every show ever.”
As for his thoughts on the sitcom itself?
“Bottom line: If you want to watch a show because it's the voice of your political point of view, right or left, do not watch the 'Roseanne' reboot. You'll be disappointed," he said. “But if you're a fan of the original 'Roseanne,' especially the glory years — you know, the 'Tom Arnold years' — this is as good as it's going to get.”
Barr has previously stated her sitcom character is a Trump supporter. The actress has been open about her support for Trump as well.
“It’s just realistic,” she explained of the choice to make the TV family pro-Trump. “I have always … attempted to portray a realistic portrait of the American people and working class people. And, in fact, it was working class people that elected Trump so I felt that was very real and something that needed to be discussed.”
The actress told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour that the revival of the ABC show will maintain its same formula. In its heyday, “Roseanne” was known for tackling tough-to-talk-about issues.
“I’m very excited to dig my teeth into the subject of healthcare in America, and that was a very big part of this… season,” she teased. “I am really happy with that. And also about aging parents and opioids, and all the things that I’ve noticed that everybody in my family and around my neighborhood are kind of dealing with too. So it’s like let’s do it.
“Roseanne” premieres Tuesday on ABC.
Fox News' Leora Arnowitz contributed to this report.
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