ABC Cancels 'Roseanne' After Racist 'Planet Of The Apes' Tweet About Ex-Obama Aide
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- ABC announced Tuesday that the network will be canceling the recently revived show "Roseanne" following controversial and racially charged tweets about a former Obama adviser from the show's star, Roseanne Barr.
"The idea that a network would cancel their top-performing show is incredibly unprecedented," The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Sun told CBS2 News. She said the show's writing staff was set to resume talks as early as today. Not anymore.
"There are a couple of hundred people who work on 'Roseanne,' you know, the writers, the fellow cast mates, and all these crew members who really are just working-class people," said Sun.
The move comes after Barr tweeted Tuesday about former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, in which she insinuated Jarrett is a product of the "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes."
Barr, whose tweet prompted immediate backlash and outrage online, later deleted the tweet and apologized.
"I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks," Barr wrote on Twitter. "I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste."
Barr also asked her fans to stop defending her after she un-deleted her account, though she issued a non-apology apology when she blamed "ambien" for her remarks. She was also retweeted some of her critics Tuesday evening.
"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey in a statement.
Following Barr's comment, Wanda Sykes, who was a consulting producer on "Roseanne", tweeted that she "will not be returning" to the show, while actress Sara Gilbert, one of Barr's co-stars, condemned the comedian's tweet, saying:
"Roseanne's recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent 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. This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we've created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love -- one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member.''
Even the seemingly benign Dictionary.com Twitter account went after Barr, also taking a swipe at the media for sugarcoating what is blatant racism with common terms like "bizarre" and "racially charged."
Early Tuesday morning, the comedian also posted critical tweets about Chelsea Clinton, in which Barr insinuated that Clinton is married to a nephew of George Soros, a major Democratic donor who spent millions supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
"I imagine George Soros's nephews are lovely people. I'm just not married to one," Clinton's response reads in part. "I am grateful for the important work @OpenSociety does in the world. Have a great day!"
Shortly after Barr's Twitter tirade, Donald Trump Jr. retweeted two of the comedian's offensive tweets regarding Clinton and Soros.
One of Barr's tweets that Trump Jr. retweeted falsely accused Soros of being "a Nazi," claiming he "turned in his fellow Jews 2 be murdered in German concentration camps."
Soros, who was born in Hungary and grew up in a Jewish family, went into hiding at the age of 13 and "survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary," a spokesman for Soros said Tuesday.
"He did not collaborate with the Nazis. He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody's property," Soros' spokesman said. "Such false allegations are insulting to the victims of the Holocaust, to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honors the truth. They are an affront to Mr. Soros and his family, who against the odds managed to survive one of the darkest moments in our history."
Trump Jr. later tweeted that he "did not RT anything that was anti-semitic."
Barr's morning target said Tuesday she would be fine, but added she was worried about the people who have to face racism in their everyday lives.
"I'm fine," Jarrett said at a televised MSNBC town hall meeting. "I'm worried about all the people out there who don't have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense, the person who's walking down the street minding their own business, and they see somebody cling to their purse."
In addition to her show getting canceled, Barr was dropped by her talent agency ICM partners, CNN reported.
ABC's reboot of "Roseanne" just recently wrapped up its first season and was set to return in the fall.
