I am another who feels a bit of sympathy for 'poor old Roseanne' who. of course, is anything but poor. But despite her mercurial and outageous statements, she's been a true talent who brought a realness, in her stand up and tv shows, to tell us about the life of average working class people, like no one else in her field. And I remember watching the original show with friends from the opposite side of the political spectrum than I - and we all laughed together. I think her punishment may have been a bit harsh, though the truth is, Roseanne has a history of undermining herself and her own success. Plants her own land mines - and unlike other targeted comics such as Lenny Bruce, Dick Gregory, or the Smothers Brothers- there 's no real rhyme or reason to her rants. Still, I remember her from her first appearance on Johnny Carson, wisecracking, chewing gum and calling herself a 'domestic goddess.' She hit the ball right out of the park, and Johnny knew it.

I feel sad for her. In contrast to Smollet who, assuming he did engineer a hoax, just
acted out of greed. The only thing I see they have in common is to be drawn to an unwitting path of self destruction. Heaven knows how they got that way.