ABC cancels "Rosanne" revival hours after the comedian's racist tweets

The network called the star's tweets "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values."

Published May 29, 2018 1:59PM (EDT)

Roseanne Barr (AP/Jordan Strauss)
Roseanne Barr (AP/Jordan Strauss)

UPDATED: On Thursday afternoon, ABC pulled the plug on Roseanne Barr's "Roseanne."

The news comes hours after the "Roseanne" star went on a racist Twitter rampage, during which the comedian joked that Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, is a combination of the Muslim Brotherhood and the "Planet of the Apes." Barr's attack came in response to a report about how CIA operations under Obama.

"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.

The comedian's agency, ICM, issued the following statement, in regard to the controversy: "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."

Barr deleted her tweet about Jarrett not long after posting it. She issued a formal apology for the joke, which she admitted was in poor taste, writing, "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. I am now leaving Twitter."

"Roseanne" star Sara Gilbert criticized Barr's remark about Jarrett on Tuesday, calling it "abhorrent."

"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," Gilbert, who plays Darlene Conner on the reboot, wrote in a tweet.

"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," she added in a second tweet.

Just before the news, Wanda Sykes, who worked as a consulting producer on the first season of the reboot, announced she would not be returning for the show's next second in the wake of Barr's racist attack on Jarrett.

"I will not be returning to Roseanne," Sykes wrote on Twitter.

Tuesday's tweet is not the first time Roseanne has used racist language to describe an African-American woman from the Obama administration.

In a since-deleted tweet from 2013, Barr tweeted, "susan rice is a man with big swinging ape balls."

ABC's decision to pull the plug on "Roseanne" — which premiered to record ratings in March — is a stunning move that could prove to be a huge blow for the network, which saw its audience numbers skyrocket with the politically-charged revival of the show.

Nearly three decades after its original premiere, March return of "Roseanne" was seen by a whopping 18.1 million viewers.

The ABC sitcom made headlines for its lead character's vocal support of President Donald Trump, who publicly praised the show's "unbelievable" ratings and personally called the comedian to congratulate her.

"Look at Roseanne. Look at her ratings," Trump said during a March speech in Ohio focused on infrastructure. "They were unbelievable . . . and it was about us."


By Shira Tarlo

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