Roseanne Barr: I was a prostitute and I'm not ashamed of it
Roseanne Barr may be on top of the world, with the highest rating sitcom in the world, but the millionaire comedian has very humble beginnings. Including, she says, a period as a prostitute who sold her body in parking lots.
The star, whose show returns to Channel Ten later this month, told US Vanity Fair that she has no shame over the fact she was once a sex worker. Doing it to earn money between comedy gigs while she was still trying to make it, Roseanne says she is pro prostitution.
‘I felt powerful,’ she told Vanity Fair when asked if she felt any shame over what she once did for a living. ‘And in control… I think prostitution should be legal, because the way any society treats prostitutes reflects directly on how it treats the highest, most powerful woman.
‘They treat us like we're all prostitutes—that we can be bought. But you have to be a real strong woman to be a prostitute. You do. And a real intelligent woman.
‘I don't like it when women talk down other women because they're prostitutes. I'm for prostitute rights. It's always been here, and women should be able to control it, and regulate it, and have some f***ing protection…
‘Prostitution is a business. It's not about wanton women, from medieval times. It's a f***ing way to make money.’
While most modern feminists see prostitution as degrading to women and an expression of misogyny by male clients, Roseanne begs to differ.
‘The one who's buying always thinks that he's got the power, but he doesn't,’ she claimed to the publication. ‘The one who's supplying has got the power.’
