Louis C.K. called Roseanne Barr after her firing, says close friend Norm Macdonald

Louis C.K. reportedly called Roseanne after her firing at ABC. (AP/ABC)

Stand-up comedian, writer and producer Norm Macdonald has had a difficult year, thanks in part to his book’s forward being penned by now disgraced comedian Louis C.K. and it heavily mentioning the person who gave him his start in comedy, Roseanne Barr.

Now, in a new interview to promote his upcoming talk show, the comedian opened up about both people.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the star addressed the current climate of celebrities being outed for poor behavior in many different fashions. He noted that he feels people in the public eye aren’t given a second chance and therefore are incentivized to deny allegations. That’s when he brought up his two friends.

“Well, Louis [C.K.] and Roseanne [Barr] are the two people I know. And Roseanne was so broken up [after her show's reboot was cancelled] that I got Louis to call her, even though Roseanne was very hard on Louis before that. But she was just so broken and just crying constantly,” he said. “There are very few people that have gone through what they have, losing everything in a day. Of course, people will go, ‘What about the victims?’ But you know what? The victims didn't have to go through that.”

Norm Macdonald opened up about close friends Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr. (Reuters)

As previously reported, Barr was fired from the reboot of “Roseanne,” which Macdonald wrote for, after tweeting a racist line directed at former President Obama's aide Valerie Jarrett. Barr was previously hard on Louis C.K., who admitted to masturbating in front of unwilling women.

She told the Daily Beast, “It’s Louis C.K., locking the door and masturbating in front of women comics and writers. I can’t tell you— I’ve heard so many stories. Not just him, but a lot of them. And it’s just par for the course. It’s just s--- women have to put up with.”

Macdonald described the conversation the two had about their respective situations, noting that they could commiserate over their careers ending so abruptly.

“They both said they had a good conversation and were just giving any advice you could give to each other,” he said. “There would be no way for me to even understand that advice, because who has ever gone through such a thing? All their work in their entire life being wiped out in a single day, a moment.”

He tweeted later Tuesday: “Roseanne and Louis have both been very good friends of mine for many years. They both made terrible mistakes and I would never defend their actions. If my words sounded like I was minimizing the pain that their victims feel to this day, I am deeply sorry.”

Macdonald's new series, “Norm Macdonald Has a Show,” is set to premiere on Netflix later this month.