After garnering 18 million viewers for the revival's premiere, ABC has decided to cancel the currently-in-pre-production season two of Roseanne after its star, Roseanne Barr, went on a racist Twitter rant. Barr has been known over time to display her political views on the social media platform and often, to a great deal of controversy. As CNN points out, "Barr is notorious for tweeting about pro-Trump conspiracy theories and other controversial topics."
The most recent tweet, which lead to the cancellation of the popular revival, arose when someone mentioned former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett "hid a lot." Roseanne tweeted back with, "Muslim brotherhood & Planet of the Apes = VJ", a truly disgusting response.
The tweet has since been deleted and Time reports she has issued an apology not only to Valerie Jarrett for her "joke" and her takedown of her looks, but also to the American people. "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." Barr then said she was leaving Twitter entirely.
However, home network ABC did not feel that her apology was sufficient enough. After hours of remaining quiet and viewers demanding the show be canceled, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey released the following statement: “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.”
The public outcry was swift, especially after the controversy she had stirred up with Chelsea Clinton just yesterday, stating that Chelsea was married to the nephew of George Soros, "a billionaire liberal benefactor who has been the subject to many right-wing conspiracy theories over the years."
Clinton responded eloquently when she said that while his nephews sound like lovely people, she's "not married to one of them."
Others were not so kind. According to Entertainment Weekly, Debra Messing was one of the most vocal celebrities asking to see Barr fired. Wanda Sykes, a key writer for Roseanne, admitted that she would no longer have anything to do with it. Danny Zuker, a writer for the original series, said Roseanne was meant to "denounce nativism, racism & homophobia. Nauseating to see what she's become."
I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) May 29, 2018
While others were vocal, Sara Gilbert, who not only plays Roseanne's daughter Darlene on the show, but also serves as an executive producer for the revival, had one of the most prominent responses. "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," she said. "I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."
Responses from celebrities and viewers alike continue to pour in. For now, it would seem that the outcry has guaranteed that it will take Roseanne Barr a great deal of time before she works in Hollywood again—if ever.
In the digital world of 2018, where everyone is meant to be held accountable no matter how successful they are, Roseanne should have known better than to send out racist, offensive tweets. The cancellation decision from ABC and parent company Disney was not only swift, but right. It's not okay for anyone to say what Roseanne said.
