BYE-BYE, BARR
Racist tweet leads ABC to axe Roseanne’s successful sitcom
ABC cancelled its hit reboot of Roseanne on Tuesday after star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet that referred to former U.S. president Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett as a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the movie Planet of the Apes.
ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey called the comment “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”
Jarrett later told MSNBC “we have to turn (this) into a teaching moment.” And Jarrett says U.S. President Donald Trump bears some responsibility for Barr’s behaviour.
“The tone does start at the top, and we like to look up to our president and feel as though he reflects the values of our country,” Jarrett said in an MSNBC special that aired Tuesday.
“But I also think every individual citizen has a responsibility, too, and it’s up to all of us to push back. Our government is only going to be as good as we make it be.”
Barr had apologized and deleted her Monday night tweet, calling it a “bad joke,” but the damage had already been done.
The revival of the sitcom was a surprise smash for ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co., and was counted on to lead ABC’s fortunes next season.
With delayed viewing counted in, more than 25 million people saw its debut episode in March — numbers increasingly rare for network TV.
Dungey’s statement came after Wanda Sykes, consulting producer and writer for the show, tweeted she was leaving.
Sara Gilbert, a co-star, also tweeted that the remark was abhorrent. Industry sources say the cancellation will affect about 200 jobs. ABC has also pulled its Emmy campaign for the show, and Canadian broadcaster CTV has pulled the sitcom from its TV and streaming platforms. Barr’s talent agency has dropped her as a client.
“We are all greatly distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet from Roseanne Barr this morning,” ICM Partners said.
“What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency.
Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”
One of the few network shows about a working-class family, Roseanne attracted considerable attention upon its return when Barr’s character supported U.S. President Donald Trump.
Barr is known to support Trump herself.
But ABC had said that it expected the show, when it returned next fall, to tone down any political comedy.
The Jarrett comment was one of a series of political tweets Barr has made.
She criticized Democratic financier George Soros and tweeted that Chelsea Clinton was “Chelsea Soros Clinton,” implying she was married to a nephew of Soros. Clinton herself corrected Barr online.
Donald Trump Jr. retweeted two of Barr’s statements about Soros, although not the remark about Jarrett.
Jarrett, who is black, came up in response to Twitter commentary that raised her name in relation to an Obama conspiracy theory. Barr tweeted: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”
Barr later tweeted an apology to Jarrett. “Forgive me,” she wrote. “My joke was in bad taste.”