(JTA) — Rosanne Barr said her tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was not racist, but was critical of anti-Semitism and the Iran deal.
“Rod Serling wrote Planet of The Apes. It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweet referred to-the anti semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want,” she tweeted Wednesday evening.
The tweet came after a series of tweets in which she said she had been thinking about how her original Jarrett tweet, in which she called Jarrett the progeny of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes, had been misunderstood.
She wrote: “1) I want u all2 know I’m fine. I’ve been using this time2 reflect &2 gain insight on what I said & how it was misunderstood.. Needless2 say I’m NOT what people have accused me of! I’ve never practiced “RACISM” in my entire life & never will. Meantime…(next page);”
She continued in a second tweet: “Thomas Muhammad has agreed to speak for me, as he knows the work I have done in civil rights against racism ALL MY LIFE & understands my tweet was about Iran’s regime, not race.”
Barr then announced that Muhammad, who recently directed a new documentary about Malcolm X and served as her campaign manager when she ran as the Green Party’s 2012 presidential nominee, would serve as her spokesman, “as he knows the work I have done in civil rights against racism ALL MY LIFE & understands my tweet was about Iran’s regime, not race.”
Barr came under fire earlier this month for a racist tweet that mocked Jarrett, who is African-American, saying that “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”
The actress later deleted the tweet and issued an apology, saying she had made “a bad joke about her politics and her looks.”
ABC then announced that it was canceling her popular show after its return for one season.
A week ago, Barr retweeted a statement that accused Jarrett of having evil intent toward Jews and Israelis. The retweet came several minutes after Barr tweeted on Tuesday that “I’m making restitution for the pain I have caused.”
Barr, whose family is Jewish but who also was raised in the Mormon church, has drawn criticism for her social media usage. She has used Twitter to promote conspiracy theories and post comments criticizing transgender people.
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