Ambien maker says ‘racism not a side-effect’ after Roseanne blamed tweet on sleeping pill

ROSEANNE Barr became just the latest celebrity to blame erratic behaviour on the sleeping pill, sparking some hilarious responses — including from the manufacturer.

THE maker of Ambien has released a sweeping statement after Roseanne Barrr blamed the racist tweet that saw her sitcom cancelled on the sleeping pill.

The TV star claimed she was “Ambien tweeting” when she wrote of African American former Obama official Valerie Jarrett: “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”

But the drug’s manufacturer Sanofi said in a statement overnight: “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

The offensive comment led to US network ABC cancelling the reboot of Roseanne on Tuesday, with celebrities and her former co-stars joining in condemning her rantings.

And Barr returned to Twitter with a fresh stream of bizarre posts on Wednesday, veering between apologising, defending herself and retweeting messages of support.

Ambien tweeting? Ambien tweeting. I’ve been known to eat an extra cookie...or six...(which is why I don’t take it anymore), but I’ve never gone full metal redneck on Ambien. pic.twitter.com/KB4GeOmC0A

— hil.i.am (@hilaryluros) May 30, 2018

When accused of using Ambien as an excuse, she wrote, “Yes, I have had odd ambien experiences on tweeting late at night-like many other ppl do. I BLAME MYSELF OK? it’s just an explanation not an excuse, Ok, bully?”

She is far from the only celebrity to attribute strange behaviour to the drug.

Last year, Tesla boss Elon Musk went on a Twitter rant after a shareholder’s meeting, admitting to having a combination of Ambien, red wine, a vintage record “and magic!”

A year earlier, he had written that “tweeting on Ambien isn’t wise”.

Users weren’t impressed, replying, “I hate to be a buzzkill but you really shouldn’t mix ambien & wine,” and “Ambient [sic] is crazy enough on its own.”

A little red wine, vintage record, some Ambien ... and magic!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2017

Charlie Sheen, who weighed in to the Roseanne debate by suggesting a reboot of his sitcom Two And A Half Men, has also had issues with the medication.

In a 2011 interview with CBS, the troubled star said he was an insomniac and blamed Ambien for his breakdown in New York the year before, which saw police called to his hotel.

Full House star John Stamos, who struggled with alcoholism, said in a 2016 interview with radio host Howard Stern that Ambien was even harder to give up than drinking.

Ambien makes you racist? No wonder some of y’all can’t get woke. 😛

— Ashley Nicole Black (@ashleyn1cole) May 30, 2018

Ah. She was “Ambien tweeting”. Is that like “Ambien voting”? Asking for a nation.

— Spencer Garrett (@1SpencerGarrett) May 30, 2018

Odd. Roseanne tweeting on Ambien sounds just like Roseanne tweeting without Ambien. 🤔 #RoseanneCancelled

— Karl Frisch (@KarlFrisch) May 30, 2018

“We must build a world where everyone is treated with equal respect and opportunity, no matter their race, creed or sexual orientation.”

— David Duke tweeting on Ambien

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 30, 2018

Can’t fall asleep. Gunna take an ambien and see if I end up tweeting anything racist. #testingtesting

— Meredith Salenger (@MeredthSalenger) May 30, 2018

Sorry for what I said when I was ambien tweeting

— Dumb Beezie (@dumbbeezie) May 30, 2018

Guys, it's the day after Memorial Day and I'm Ambien tweeting and I'd like to talk about the most persecuted race in history - White people. pic.twitter.com/0dm6fW8LQC

— FSB/GRU Spicey (@RussianSpicey) May 30, 2018

“I was on some medications, antidepressants and that damn Ambien, I’m so happy to be off that,” he said. “Completely off. I don’t take anything.

“My memory was starting to get really f***ed up too, from that. Difficult to memorise scripts, I couldn’t remember names and places and things. And that was the hardest thing to kick, by the way. Booze, and whatever, that happened, but the Ambien was tough.”

In 2010, a man accused of disrupting a trans-Atlantic flight by claiming he was carrying explosives said he had taken Ambien, although doctors said it was very unlikely that the drug was the cause.

The sedative-hypnotic is listed as having possible side-effects including “abnormal thinking and behavioural changes”, “decreased inhibition” such as aggressiveness and “out of character” extroversion. A small number of insomniacs in clinical trials (less than one per cent) reported hallucinations.

But many observers were sceptical about whether the drug could cause a change in behaviour, especially since Barr has form in making objectionable comments.

She has recently been vocal in advocating conspiracy theories and making other offensive remarks.

Five years ago, she called then-US National Security Advisor Susan Rice, another African American woman, a “man with big swinging ape balls”.

He also posed as Hitler, claimed to be an incest victim and published a photo of bruises on her face saying she had been attacked by Bill Cosby.