Many of actress Roseanne Barr’s friends and fans have been concerned for her well-being following the brutally calloused manner in which ABC dumped her — and effectively killed her immensely popular sitcom — after she posted a controversial tweet earlier this year. Thus, panic quickly spread across social media on Saturday when unconfirmed reports began to circulate that she had suffered a heart attack
But the reports were just as quickly put to rest by Roseanne herself with a simple two-word tweet:
I’m fine. pic.twitter.com/T2fa1Mnqvg
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) November 25, 2018
Barr received an absolute outpouring of support on her post from fans and friends who were grateful for the update that allayed their fears.
How the rumor started
Fox News reported that the “news” that Barr had suffered a heart attack appeared to have originated with right-leaning independent journalist Lee Stranahan, who interrupted a chat on Periscope he was conducting to share the word he had just received from someone who claimed to be Barr’s assistant.
He tweeted:
I was doing a call-in segment about Zionism on Periscope when the phone rang, saying it was my friend @therealroseanne. I was surprised but it’s a topic she’s interested in so…
It was her assistant, saying she’d had a heart attack.
This went out live. I don’t know her status.
— 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚗 ⏳ (@stranahan) November 25, 2018
Putting the rumor to rest
Many of the commenters on Stranahan’s post quickly set him straight by sharing the “I’m fine” post from Barr, as well as another from the actress wherein she claimed that she — and Stranahan — had fallen victim to some sort of prank.
Nevertheless, Barr reiterated that she had “no medical issues.”
She tweeted on Sunday:
I was the victim of a prank. I’ve had no medical issues. I’m spending time at home with my family and relaxing. https://t.co/K9BLAO2cLi
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) November 25, 2018
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It remains to be seen who is ultimately responsible for the “fake news” of Barr suffering a heart attack, but thankfully, that news was just a false alarm and the popular actress is doing just fine — at least, according to the woman herself.