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John Goodman says sudden 'Roseanne' fame left him frightened

In a SAG-AFTRA Foundation conversation, John Goodman, 74, said he was frightened by the fame that followed "Roseanne" and called himself his "own worst enemy". Coverage also recounts his strained relationship with Roseanne Barr.

2 outlets · 0L · 0C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Fox News
Image: New York Post

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The story, neutrally told

Right · 2John Goodman, 74, said in a conversation with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation that he was "frightened" by the level of fame he achieved after starring in "Roseanne" and other projects. Right · 2Asked about his biggest pitfalls, he said he wished he had handled fame better: "I wish I would have taken to it better. I didn't. I was frightened … I'm my own worst enemy, by far." Right · 2Interviewer Joe Neumaier asked about his career's rise in the late 1980s and early 1990s; Goodman said he was told to get a publicist, had a bad time with how famous he became "all of a sudden", and thought, "Well, that ain't me." He added that it took a long time to deal with it and that the demands of selling a film, though not ideal, "need to be done".

Right · 2He also said he agreed to do "Roseanne" "to quit living out of a suitcase", that he "hit it off with [Roseanne Barr] immediately", and that the show stood out against "wealth porn" series like "Dynasty" and "Dallas" as "sober reality". Right · 2"Roseanne" aired on ABC for nine seasons from 1988 to 1997, with 222 episodes in its first run and four Emmy Awards. Goodman went on to films including "The Flintstones", "The Big Lebowski" and "Monsters Inc." before returning as Dan Conner in the 2018 reboot. Right · 2The reboot lasted one season and was cancelled after Barr made a racist social media statement about Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama. A few weeks later ABC announced the spin-off "The Conners" without Barr; it ran for 112 episodes from 2018 to 2025, and Goodman filmed it alongside "The Righteous Gemstones".

Right · 2Goodman told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2025 that he and Barr had not spoken "for about seven or eight years" and that he doubted she wanted to talk to him. Barr said on her podcast in March that she felt "betrayed" because Goodman scaled back his appearances in later seasons, which she said she learned from producers rather than his agent.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets present the interview as a candid celebrity-confession piece ("getting real about the downside") and pair it with the long-running Goodman–Barr rift. The New York Post copy is credited to Fox News and is near-identical to Fox's article.
Emphasis
Goodman's quotes about fame, then background on the show, reboot cancellation and Barr's 'betrayed' remarks.
Leaves out or plays down
No left or centre outlets covered it, so no comparison is possible; neither article gives context on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation event beyond the interviewer's name.
Charged language
“getting real about the downside”
For example
“John Goodman is getting real about the downside of starring in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time.” — Fox News
“John Goodman says ‘Roseanne’ fame left him struggling: ‘That ain’t me’” — New York Post

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