Roseanne Blames Ambien for Her Racism, But Doctors Aren't Having It
On Monday night, Roseanne Barr went on a now-deleted racist Twitter rant against Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. After immediate and intense backlash, ABC cancelled the Roseanne reboot, calling her statement "abhorrent."
Though she vowed to get off Twitter, Barr was back on Wednesday with an explanation for her bad behavior. Her excuse: Ambien side effects.
She tweeted, "guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting -- it was memorial day too -- i went 2 far & do not want it defended -- it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but...don't defend it please."
What is Ambien and what are the side effects?
Ambien (generic: Zolpidem) is a sedative used to treat insomnia. It's prescribed to people who have trouble falling asleep, even after they've attempted to improve their sleep hygiene. And yes, you're remembering correctly: It has been in the news before for its crazy side effects. People have reported middle-of-the-night phone conversations they don't remember, semi-conscious online shopping sprees, and even-horrifyingly-sleep-driving. In its factsheet about the drug, the NIH confirms that Ambien may cause unusual moods and behaviors, including driving while sleeping. Yikes.
Although psychological effects are possible, they only affect a small segment of users-less than 1 percent, by some estimates. More common side effects, which impact about 10 percent of users, can include dizziness, daytime drowsiness, and headaches.
But did Ambien cause Roseanne's tweetstorm?
Though Ambien can indeed have side effects, one thing is clear: Racism isn't one of them. Barr has a long history of making questionable statements around race and religion, and on Twitter, the medical community reacted to Barr's excuse with dismay:
Ambien has quite a few side effects but racism isn’t one of them. Even if Roseanne wanted to claim she had an Ambien blackout and was sleep tweeting, that racism had to come from somewhere deep within.
- Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 30, 2018
This should go without saying but Ambien can’t make you racist.
Trust me, I’m a doctor. #protip- Propane Jane? (@docrocktex26) May 30, 2018
Dear @therealroseanne Ambien does not make you racist, being racist makes you racist
- Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) May 30, 2018
I did a quick literature search on Ambien-induced racism pic.twitter.com/BCqSPd5v5f
- David Juurlink (@DavidJuurlink) May 30, 2018
This morning, the pharmaceutical company that produces Ambien released this statement in response to Barr's tweets:
People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.
- Sanofi US (@SanofiUS) May 30, 2018
Sorry, Roseanne, but "Ambien made me do it" isn't going to cut it this time.
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