ABC Skips Controversy with Leftist Roseanne Barr, No Mention of 'Burnt Jew Cookies' Photo Spread

Published: 1/6/2011 6:42 PM ET

Hard-left comedienne Roseanne Barr appeared on Wednesday's Good Morning America and faced no questions about her controversial, often bizarre statements, such as in 2009 when she dressed up like Hitler and pretended to bake "burnt Jew cookies." Instead, Roberts fawned, "Buckle up, folks. Roseanne Barr is back, making us laugh."

An ABC graphic touted Barr: "Roseanne is Back! Past, Present and Presidency?" Keep in mind, this is a woman who once smeared that Republicans "cherish the freedom to have sex with small children."

Roberts downplayed the cover of Roseannearchy, Barr's new book, by blandly observing, "Clever little cover there." The "clever" cover features the comic dressed up like the communist Che Guevara. It was up to Barr to reference the radical nature of the book, noting, "I was thinking Rush Limbaugh, kind of. A left-wing, Rush Limbaugh kind of thing."

At no point did Roberts challenge the comedienne on a July 2009 photo spread in which she dressed up as Adolf Hitler and held a pan of "burnt Jew cookies." (Go here to see a picture.)

Fox News explained at the time:

At her request, Heeb [magazine] photographed Barr wearing the infamous Hitler moustache and a swastika, holding and preparing to take a bite of what the article refers to as "burnt Jew cookies."

The shocking photos and interview are the first time the comedian has been seen after a "self-imposed" exile.

The article describes Barr - who is Jewish - as nailing the "Fuehrer's facial expressions with twisted glee."

The closest thing the morning show co-host came to discussing something controversial was when she mildly asked, "What's this about you running for president?" It's not as though Barr isn't willing to discuss her incendiary opinions. She appeared on the January 5 edition of Anderson Cooper to call Sarah Palin a "traitor."

UPDATE: 01-07-11: Barr also appeared on the Thursday edition of Nightline. Unlike Roberts, reporter David Wright did ask about dressing up as Hitler and suggested she "pushes the edge a little bit."

A partial transcript of the January 5 segment can be found below:

ROBIN ROBERTS: Buckle up, folks. Roseanne Barr is back, making us laugh. She's got a brand-new - brand new book. "Roseannearchy: Dispatches From The Nut Farm." In it, she shares her always hilarious thoughts on everything from politics to aging. Roseanne Barr, it's great to see you.

ABC graphic: Roseanne is Back! Past, Present and Presidency?

ROSEANNE BARR: It's great to see you, too.

ROBERTS: Clever little cover there. What were you thinking?

BARR: Isn't that cute?

ROBERTS: It is.

BARR: Well I thought well, I thought, well, get them all. I was thinking Rush Limbaugh, kind of. A left wing, Rush Limbaugh kind of thing.

ROBERTS: Well "Dispatches From The Nut Farm." You know, people will, of course, will be thinking one thing, but you're actually living and working on a nut farm.

BARR: Yeah, I have a nut farm. I'm growing macadamia nuts. And I really think that macadamia nuts hold the promise of a brilliant future for this planet. And I'm serious about it. Totally serious, it's not a joke. They're the perfect protein.

...

ROBERTS: All right, because George wanted me to get to this. What's this about you running for president?

BARR: I'm running for president of these United States of America. Plus, it's a two-fer, and also, prime minister of Israel, a two-fer. And the reason I'm doing that is because, it's true. Because I just realized, my whole life that I've been doing all this writing, this unending writing, it's always about saving the world. So I'm like, jeez, you're 58. You've already figured everything out. You've already done a sitcom. You have five grandkids and five grown kids. What are you gonna do? You're gonna, you know, live a less-stressful life and save the world. So in my effort to be less stressful than the past, I just figured out solutions for the easiest way things, a problem can be solved. And I think I'm the only candidate in the whole world that says stuff like that. I think we should target a problem and solve it. And I figured out how we can do that. So that's what I'm running on is solutions that actually work. And don't destroy the environment in the process.

ROBERTS: So what's the solution to the unemployment crisis?

BARR: Jobs.

ROBERTS: Oh. There you go. You have it. Silly me. Silly me.

BARR: No, thank you for asking.

ROBERTS: That that would be the solution. You are, well you probably could run for office with answers like that. But you're happy, you got the, content, I remember you saying you don't really like - you're content.