Comedian says sleep aid behind racist tweet

US comedian Roseanne Barr said she was tired of “being attacked and belittled” and blamed sleep aid Ambien for her tweet that compared a black former Obama administration official to an ape, a racist remark that sparked a wave of outrage.

Barr said in a series of Tweets on Tuesday and early Wednesday that what she did was “unforgivable” when she posted on Twitter that if the Islamist political movement “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj,” referring to Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Barack Obama.

“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,” she wrote.

Sanofi responded Wednesday morning.

“People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world,” its US arm said on Twitter. “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

In other Tweets, Barr said that she was tired of “being attacked and belittled more than other comedians who have said worse” and asked for people not to boycott ABC, saying that the network has the right to “do what they wish.”

Walt Disney Co’s ABC network on Tuesday canceled her popular US television comedy “Roseanne” after her tweet.

Barr, 65, then apologized “for making a bad joke” about Jarrett. “Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!!” Barr said in a Tweet late on Tuesday. “I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people, and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet.”