It looks like Roseanne Barr’s racist, anti-semitic, hateful, anti-Muslim ways have finally caught up to her.
In case you haven’t heard, Barr released a string of awful tweets this morning, including one that attacked former President Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, calling her a Muslim ape.
Replying to a tweet accusing the former White House staffer of alleged coverups during the Obama administration this morning, Barr wrote: “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” using Jarrett’s initials.
A backlash quickly ensued and Barr deleted her tweet, saying it was “a joke” and issuing an apology to Jarrett: “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am 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.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am 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.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
But Barr’s half-baked apology wasn’t enough to keep consulting producer Wanda Sykes around. Less than two hours later, Sykes announced she was quitting the show, tweeting:
I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) May 29, 2018
And less than two hours after that, ABC announced is was canceling it altogether.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement this afternoon.
Disney CEO Bob Iger added on Twitter that “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”
From Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."
There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) May 29, 2018
The Roseanne revival had been a huge hit, becoming the highest-rated series of the season. Pre-production on the second season was already underway.
That is, until now.
Related: Roseanne finally breaks with Trump… over her ratings
Paco
Good!
I do feel sorry for the cast and crew losing their jobs. Maybe they can kill off Roseanne and start a new show called the Conners or something. The new show should have been about Darlene and her children anyway. With the old Roseanne cast doing the occasional cameo.
Chrisk
Yeah, have her come back as a ghost or like in Candyman. Say her name 3 times in the mirror and she comes back.
paul dorian lord fredine
great idea. kill her off and shift the focus to other members of the family. of course, the trumpanzees are going to whine about how she’s being targeted for her pro-trump stance, freedom of speech, yadayadablahblah. maybe another network will ride to the rescue or perhaps it can be a segment on hannity. all in all, she should be apologizing to the rest of the cast and crew for costing them their jobs by not being able to keep her opinions to herself. also, will we now here from the white house about how unfairly she’s being treated? give it time.
Mr-DJ
I signed in to say exactly what you’ve just expressed, Paco. (Great minds think alike): Keep it – kill her off – call it the Conners. Feeling sorry for the cast, several I’m sure gave up other opportunities in order to make this a complete return of original cast. Thoughtless Trumpsters strike again.
RevJames
New show, sans Roseanne, hire entire cast, call it “The Conners” first episode have “Rosie” go fuckin’ insane with a nervous breakdown. Spend second season making fun her and her insanity after visiting her in the sanitarium.
frankcar1965
You know what they say- lay down with dogs. They get what they deserve for doing the show again. I hope that BITCH gets hit by a truck and gets paralyzed and her vocal chords ripped out.
Paco
@frankcar1965 – I don’t think the cast should be punished for the bitch’s racist twitter rants. Hulu and all Viacom owned channels are pulling the reruns of the original series, so now the bitch has cost her cast mates any royalties they may have been receiving as well.
Babakazoo
It’s worked before – remember back in the 80’s when they fired Valerie Harper from her own show (‘Valerie’), killing the character off in a car accident between seasons and then just continued the show as ‘The Hogan Family’.
Frank McGinness
@Paco 🙂 Okay then she dies during surgery getting her leg fixed. Caused by fatal botched job. Mr. Conner sues medicos and wins. Now he, the whole family, except Roseanne, never has to worry about money again. Well I guess Roseanne doesn’t need money, so no worry.,, for her character, the real Roseanne may actually be worrying about money. Lost income. I wonder if the Actors Guild insurance or the ABC job contract covers the lost wages? Likely. Less for likely Roseanne.
@paul dorian lord fredine, It wasn’t a matter of her opinion, which is protected by the Bill of Rights and the first amendment right to free speech. It was a matter of racism while working for ABC.
Hillers
Will this be like when A&E said it was cancelling “Duck Dynasty” after that hillbilly’s homophobic tirade, then a week later, that shit was still on the air? The only “values” these networks have comes in the currency of cash money.
btrmale
Isn’t that show absolutely the worst?!! I can’t imagine anybody watching.
Of course the worst show is that Kate +8. I can’t imagine anybody watching that at all
Brian
“after that hillbilly’s homophobic tirade”
Anyone else see the hypocrisy in this sentence?
QueerTruth
Disney owns ABC. It’s a done deal. The show is gone and they will never work with Roseann again.
bowlingbutch
I hate the rest of the cast and crew had to go down with her but she deserves it. She will say and do anything to get attention. Haven’t watched it and glad to see it gone if only because she turned her back on minorities, LGBTQ community and women by backing Donald Trump.
btrmale
It’s too bad the show got canceled. It really was a funny show. I think it was better than the first run. But Roseanne has always been a hothead, and she’s got a terrible leader setting the example! Trump commanded her since she acted like she is supporting him. Then she ran off the deep end and couldn’t keep her mouth or typing fingers shut just like trump can’t He really is causing major damage to this country!
fur_hunter
Yes…..even though there is freedom of speech in the country, what one says has consequences. Some, not so pretty, especially during this ‘politically correct’ period of time. Believe it or not, I have a lawyer who said he is sending law enforcement after me for calling a politician an idiot and a moron in an email. Yeah. I’m still waiting for them to arrive. I have contacted a very good lawyer in the family to see if this whole thing holds any water. I have a feeling his threats are totally BULL $H!T but we shall see.
batesmotel
Exactly but it only has consequence if the person is a trump supporter. Kathy griffin held up a bloodied severed head of the president, Wanda Sykes called him an orangutang. Every late night talk show host is spouting derogatory words.
dwes09
It amazes me how regressives conveniently forget or make up history (as well as the present). Griffin was soundly excoriated by both left and right even though what she did was no worse at all than the abuse heaped laughingly on Obama for 8 years. She lost lucrative contracts and did not work for months.
By contrast when your right wing heroes posted pictures of the Obamas as chimpanzees made the most childish (and baseless) comments about Barack and Michelle, implied the need of a lynching you all cried “freedom of speech” or “it was just a joke” (which you clearly all misunderstand) when the slightest criticism was made.
And good for Wanda Sykes. He certainly looks like an orangutan (the correct spelling) though they are better looking and generally display more ethics.
CanadianGuy62
I always find it funny how many Americans trot out “free speech” in a situation like this. The government is neither censoring, nor jailing, nor fining Rosanne…nor did they do anything to Kathy Griffin. That is what the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is about…government restrictions on free speech.
This is strictly the almighty free market at work. And an expected conservative-led boycott of ABC will be that same free market at work, just as CNN had the right to dump Griffin from their NY Eve broadcast (a foolish, cowardly decision on their part, but one they had a right to make).
tampaed
Karma is a Bitch LOL and other than the orange faced crazy I can’t think of a more deserving POS.
Thanks RB for ridding the TV world of your UGLY Inside and OUT self!
Rude Drew
Im sure she’ll make a return on CMT
Cylest Brooks
I think I read that CMT was one of the stations that was dropping reruns, actually.
Ed Hawkins
ABC has done the right thing! Now MSNBC has to do the same thing to its homophobic bigot, Joy Reid. Bigotry is bigotry. Barr apologized, but an apology isn’t enough when the offender is allowed access to a national tv network. Reid’s apologies, diluted as they are with “I really didn’t do it” attenuations, shouldn’t give her a pass. Her thinking and her biases should have no place on the MSNBC air. No difference between Barr and Reid.
Terrycloth
I won’t miss it..never cared for her loud whiny voice and so called humor…it might find a new home on cable somewhere…20 tv shows have been cancelled so far this year..the latest the chew…200 hundred channels and nothing on.but..law & Order and Fixer Upper
fireman452
Me either – never watched it before and certainly not now
BrokebackBob
I don’t feel sorry for any of the cast crew or whatever. Roseanne is a toxic deplorable and they all knew that signing up to work with her. Good riddance Felicia!
puck247
YEAH !!! Especially those KIDS !!!!
NateOcean
This will allows Roseanne to take on the White House communications director spot, in the vein of Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
g-sing
if the network really cared they wouldnt have started this spinoff in the first place. the crazy old coot has been tweeting shit from the beginning!
frankcar1965
They saw $$ signs and now they got burned, boohoo for them.
fireman452
IT WAS A JOKE Can’t you people take a JOKE??!!! – This is what we hear every time the far right goes off the rails and uses very bad judgement because they have a bigot in the White House giving them cover – now Roseanne will become a Martyr in the cause along with the White supremacist, nazis and other trump supporters – some things are JUST NOT FUNNY and do not qualify as a JOKE.
puck247
Amen Kathy Griffith ! (Btw, that Radio City Music Hall show is gonna rock !).
mauikamaaina
No loss! Didn’t care about Barr’s low quality show anyway.
jpcolter
Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. Hate that the rest of the cast and the crew are now unemployed though.
frankcar1965
Not me, they deserve it for doing the show. I hope they all never get another acting job again.
fireman452
HA – NOW Roseanne has lost her representation – she was just dropped by here promoters too – GREAT NEWS!!!
Kangol
I expect racist BS from this woman so that comments about Valerie Jarrett were no surprise, but my question is, given that she’s Jewish, why was once dressed up in a Hitler outfit, and then why was she slandering another Jewish person, George Soros, about the Holocaust? What on earth is wrong with this woman? I get that she wants attention, but come on! She’s not a toddler or pre-teen, she’s a senior citizen who should know better!
QueerTruth
You’re questions are logical. Too logical. 😉
It’s Roseann (or Trump). Logic doesn’t work with these bottom-feeders.
Lucky they are good a self sabotage.
One down…
prarie pup
The REAL reason the sitcom was cancelled is because it wasn’t funny. This tirade thing was just the excuse ABC was looking for.
fireman452
I have ALWAYS had great respect for Wanda Sykes – and she showed her integrity today.
batesmotel
Yes, I read the tweet, yes I was indifferent to it, no it didn’t offend me, no it didn’t change my opinion of her, no it probably shouldn’t have been tweeted, but neither should 99% of the stuff people tweet daily, and no I don’t agree with cancelling the show over that. Her tweet is no different than the other nonsense people are posting up. I read it and thought, “That’s it?” Both extreme sides run around tweeting derogatory words on other people’s appearance all day long every second with no consequences.
Heywood Jablowme
“Because that’s how things work. Just look at how the justice system works.”
To compare a bunch of private businesses to the justice system is “false equivalence.”
If you’re upset (in reality) about Colbert and Reid, or even if you’re just pretending to be upset, nobody is stopping you from writing their networks and pretending to complain.
Heywood Jablowme
“The same” would be a TV person making racist comments about a black Trump aide. Which would be impossible because there are no black Trump aides, lol.
These things can’t be objectively measured and they’re never – or very rarely – exactly the same.
It wouldn’t have surprised me if either Joy Reid OR Bill Maher had been fired. (Maher has hinted that he is well aware he’s on thin ice.) If an uproar had continued about either of them, they’d be gone. But you didn’t complain to MSNBC or HBO about either of them, did you? Or are you suddenly going to pretend you did?
And don’t pretend you even approve of discrimination lawsuits against private businesses.
Dude, we’re all aware of your modus operandi. You don’t give a sh*t about this issue or any of these incidents. You’re just pretending.
nitejonboy
I feel so sorry for those child actors, they were just starting to get their bearings and come into their own, now it’s all over. I think they should sue the bitch for lost wages. I wish they’d go on without her, have the show be about Dan raising them alone after she died of a drug overdose,lol.
frankcar1965
I hope NONE of them ever work again. Maybe next time people will think what they are doing.
Frank McGinness
@Frankcar 1965, Given the way you want the future to be, why would they even bother to “think about what they are doing”, when there’s no reason to do so, since “NONE of them [will} ever work again”.
Jaroslaw
I would like to know what the values are of the networks considering how much garbage is on tv. The news is terribly biased and as much editorial as news. How many of you heard about the Supreme Court decision about arbitration requirements to get a job (the court upheld the applicant being required to sign away their rights). This affects at least 25 million people. Anyway I don’t dislike Whoopi Goldberg and I am at work when The View is on. But I did see a blogger give a very small sample of the apparently many racial things she has said over the years. A couple of them I recall hearing something about. So yes, when she denigrates whites, people and/or this same hypocritical media would be outraged if “black” replaced ”white” in Whoopi’s statements. And before someone says neither are right and dismissing what I’m saying this is very different. Roseanne, however wrong and obnoxious, she was speaking for herself. Whoopi is paid for her opinions thus explicitly speaking for the show/network. Why are her statements ok?
Frank McGinness
@Jaroslaw It appears you miss the problem point, which is Roseanne as an ABC employee that entertains the general public, represents and to the public is the face of ABC, so she must conduct herself accordingly with ABC in mind at all times dealing with the public. This is it. Her action set in motion the activation of job clause – the reason to fire / justified termination of contract. Like most any employee contract.
Brian
“Whoopi is paid for her opinions thus explicitly speaking for the show/network.”
Um, that’s not how it works.
Frank McGinness
True, even Whoopi has to tailor her opinions, it’s not anything goes.
Jaroslaw
Brian – could you be a bit more specific? I have no idea what you mean by “that’s not how it works.” Whoopi and all the cast of the view are giving their opinions as part of their job on the View and continue to get their contracts renewed year after year. This is not different than a personal opinion? Look up some of the many racial things Whoopi has said over the years. I am hard pressed to see why Roseanne doesn’t meet with the networks values but Whoopi does.
I can’t reply to Frank since there is no reply button under his comment – so I hope you see it here. I did not miss the point – i am specifically pointing out the hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness of the CEO. I never said Whoopi can say whatever she wants – again go read some of what she has said and some of the other posts here and explain why many others get a pass.
TimberWolf
While Rosanne is not the only celebrity in the hot seat for open mouth and insert foot, the lack of speaking has open a door for text what we think, different than what would be spoken face to face. There is no excuse for racial or hateful texts, something Rosanne would not have said in an interview face to face. No excuse for her behavior however she alone has cost , the cast, the crew, writers and the network plenty. Now the question is will everyone be held accountable for what they text regardless of who they are? Rosanne’s apology has no value like Kathy Griffin and all the other celebrities and politicians who tweet and make public apologies a waste of time.
DCguy
The show had already been picked up. So that means people’s schedules were already adjusted, other jobs turned down etc… It sounds like the other cast members as well as staff have a great lawsuit against Roseanne Barr for lost income. She was fired for cause and caused the show to go down.
Also, because of her comments, stations here in the U.S. AND in other countries are pulling the reruns off the air. So that means that former cast members like Tom Arnold or Sandra Bernhard who were getting residuals can ALSO have a suit against her for that lost income.