--- title: Ambien Company Hits Back at Roseanne Barr Over Ambien Tweet description: The pharmaceutical company behind Ambien is hitting back at Roseanne Barr for blaming a racist tweet on the prescription sedative. canonical: https://time.com/5295405/roseanne-barr-ambien-tweeting-response/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-30T16:09:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:29:06.411Z og:title: Ambien Company Responds to Rosanne's 'Ambien Tweeting' Claim og:description: 'Racism is not a known side effect.' og:url: https://time.com/5295405/roseanne-barr-ambien-tweeting-response/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcba2bbc51d499a3d/698931d397cdff4b556b5601/roseanne-ambien.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Roseanne-Premiere-Roseanne-Barr og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ambien Company Responds to Rosanne's 'Ambien Tweeting' Claim twitter:description: 'Racism is not a known side effect.' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcba2bbc51d499a3d/698931d397cdff4b556b5601/roseanne-ambien.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Racism Is Not a Known Side Effect.' Company Behind Ambien Responds to Rosanne's Claim She was 'Ambien Tweeting' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d2bd6683-f31c-46c3-8d62-898c5797db29&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: ABC Cancelled 'Roseanne' After Roseanne Barr's Racist Tweet [Watch (HLS stream): ABC Cancelled 'Roseanne' After Roseanne Barr's Racist Tweet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IxQZFHcI.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2018-05-29. ABC has canceled Roseanne._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 30, 2018 4:09 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer May 30, 2018 4:09 PM UTC The pharmaceutical company behind [Ambien](http://time.com/5295104/roseanne-barr-ambien/) is hitting back at [Roseanne Barr](http://time.com/5294568/roseanne-cancellation-abc-racism/) for blaming a [racist tweet](http://time.com/5294402/roseanne-cancelled-abc-racist-conspiracy-theory/) on the prescription sedative. In response to a now-deleted tweet in which Barr wrote that she had been “ambien tweeting” when she posted the [racist tweet that led to her show _Roseanne_‘s cancellation](http://time.com/5294313/roseanne-cancelled-abc/), drugmaker Sanofi has shut down the 65-year-old actor’s apparent assertion that its sleeping pills were to blame. “People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world,” the company tweeted on Wednesday. “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” ABC cancelled its popular sitcom reboot _Roseanne_ on Tuesday in the wake of a tweet in which after Barr stated that if “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby,” it would be former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran. > [](https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1001776470614855680) > [](https://twitter.com/SanofiUS/status/1001824999496404992) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5295405/roseanne-barr-ambien-tweeting-response/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5295405/roseanne-barr-ambien-tweeting-response/"},"headline":"'Racism Is Not a Known Side Effect.' 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