‘Roseanne’ Cancelled By ABC After ‘Repugnant’ Racist Tweet
ABC announced on Tuesday it will immediately cancel the show “Roseanne,” following a racist tweet from the sitcom’s star, Roseanne Barr.
“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.
Barr, who is Jewish, wrote a tweet saying that Obama-era White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, who is African-American, was descended from apes.
“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” she wrote.
The show, which was a critical and commercial hit in the 1990s and was revived earlier this year, was the “highest rated and most watched series of the broadcast season,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
But ABC was also criticized for giving a platform to Barr, an outspoken conservative who has a history of making racially inflammatory statements and spreading conspiracy theories.
Contact Haley Cohen at hcohen@forward.com
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