ABC Cancels “Roseanne” After Roseanne Barr Tweets Racist Post

ABC took swift action after Roseanne Barr posted and then deleted a racist tweet this morning. She was responding to a tweet about former Obama administration advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is African-American, writing, “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”

In the apology, Roseanne said she was “truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste."

Reaction came quickly from ABC’s Entertainment president Channing Dungey who said, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," and Disney CEO Bob Iger also chimed in saying in a tweet, "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing." It was a huge move, in that the show was the season’s number one scripted series overall and eclipsed “This Is Us” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

  • Wanda Sykes, who consulted on the current season, immediately quit - before the network even responded - showrunner Bruce Helford condemned the post and explained the consequences to the good people on the crew. Sara Gilbert, a driving force to get the revival made in the first place, blasted Barr as well. "Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent," she writes. "And do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."
  • Michael Fishman, who plays DJ, also released a statement, tweeting, I feel devastated, not for the end of the Roseanne show, but for all those who poured their hearts and souls into our jobs, and the audience that welcomed us into their homes.”
  • Also amid the backlash? Barr’s agent ICM Partners have dropped her as a client saying in part, “we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”
  • For her part, Valerie Jarrett took time during an MSNBC town hall called ‘Everyday Racism In America” to say this should be a “teaching moment” and that she’s worried about others that don’t have people coming to their defense. See Jarrett’s complete response here.
  • BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE! The Laff network , which airs "Roseanne" re-runs, has pulled the series from their schedule.  In a written statement, the network says "While we believe viewers have always distinguished the personal behavior of the actress Roseanne Barr from the television character Roseanne Conner, we are disgusted by Barr's comments this week. Therefore, we are removing the original Roseanne series from the Laff schedule for the time being, effective immediately." TV Land, Paramount Network and CMT have also pulled "Roseanne" reruns, and Hulu removed episodes from the most recent season off their service.

Thousands of reactions have poured in on social media, see some of them from celebrities here.


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