Names and faces
The maker of Ambien said Wednesday that “racism is not a known side effect” after Roseanne Barr cited the insomnia drug in explaining the tweet that led ABC to cancel her show. Hours after ABC pulled the plug on Roseanne because of her offensive tweet about former President Barack Obama adviser
Valerie Jarrett — and quickly breaking a promise to stay off Twitter — the comedian was busy posting on the social media platform. Barr tweeted that what she did was unforgivable and urged supporters not to defend her. She said of the Jarrett tweet, “It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting.” The drug maker Sanofi took to social media to say that “while all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” Barr later tweeted that she has had odd experiences while taking the drug late at night. “I blame myself, not Ambien,” she tweeted. And, after not mentioning Barr’s firing in a campaign-style rally in Tennessee Tuesday night, President Donald Trump, who reveled in the success of Roseanne after Barr’s character in the show came out as a supporter of his presidency, broke his silence on Twitter, noting that Robert Iger, chief executive of ABC parent Walt Disney Co., called Jarrett to tell her that ABC did not tolerate Barr’s comments. “Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC,” Trump wrote. “Maybe I just didn’t get the call?”
There will be no stairway to basement heaven just yet for British singer Robbie Williams. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Williams’ next-door neighbor, has persuaded local authorities to postpone a decision on the pop star’s plan for an underground gym and swimming pool. Page and Williams, a former member of boy band Take That, have been battling for years over Williams’ plans to extend his home in the affluent Holland Park area of west London. Page is worried that the construction could damage his own 19th-century Gothic-revival mansion, Tower House. The interior of the turreted red-brick building by architect William Burgess features ornate tiling, plaster work and stained glass, which Page says could be damaged by vibrations from construction. The pioneering rock guitarist has said he only plays acoustic guitars at home in order to protect the house, which he bought in 1972 from the actor Richard Harris. Although Williams said the work “will result in absolute minimal impact” to neighboring properties, the Kensington and Chelsea Council’s planning committee decided not to grant Williams planning permission until it received further assurances.