President Donald Trump reached out to Roseanne Barr to congratulate her after the debut of her ABC sitcom reboot drew 18.4 million viewers.
Speaking by telephone Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Barr said the call was "pretty exciting." She described the exchange as a "friendly conversation about working in television and ratings."
Barr, who said she has known Trump for years, is a political supporter of the president's. Her revamped sitcom tackles current politics, with Roseanne embracing Trump, and clashing with her sister, a staunch opponent.
The White House confirmed the Wednesday night phone call, but did not say if Trump had watched. But the former reality star is keenly interested in ratings.
The updated sitcom starring Roseanne returned Tuesday, more than two decades after the original ended its hit run. The hourlong debut episode was watched by 10 percent more viewers than saw the May 1997 finale of ABC's original "Roseanne."
Conservatives cheered the show's ratings. Matt Drudge tweeted: "ROSEANNE RATINGS BLOWOUT." During a Q&A session with TV critics earlier this year, Barr said, "It was working-class people who elected Trump. So I felt that was very real, and something that needed to be discussed." She added that she's not an apologist for the president and doesn't agree with all he's said and done.
Rapper gets a year for not paying taxes
Rapper DMX was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for evading $1.7 million in taxes. The sentence in federal court in Manhattan came after the judge agreed to listen to the track "Slippin'," one of DMX's biggest hits, which defense attorneys said showed a man who knew what it was to come back after bottoming out. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, wept while his attorney described his childhood. "In the court's view, Mr. Simmons is a good man, but very far from a perfect man," U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said. DMX has been behind bars since January, when his bail was revoked for repeatedly violating drug treatment terms.
Cosby: The judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial rejected demands Thursday from the comedian's defense lawyers that he step aside because his wife is a social worker and advocate for assault victims. Judge Steven O'Neill said at a pretrial hearing that he's "not biased or prejudiced" by his wife's work. Cosby's lawyers were in court in suburban Philadelphia making a last-ditch effort to postpone the comedian's sexual assault retrial after losing their bid to overturn O'Neill's ruling allowing up to five additional accusers to testify. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.
