The recent ABC reboot of Roseanne has been a smash-hit, but like the woman in the title, it’s also been controversial at times. Today it’s over. Following a racist, since-deleted tweet in which Roseanne Barr compared Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, to the offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes,” ABC pulled the plug on the show. In an email sent out to media this morning, Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment said: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
Disney Chairman and CEO Robert Iger backed the decision, tweeting: “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”
As Americans, we’re in a bad spot right now, and the worst in people is coming out. The real shame here is that thanks to the actions of one woman (“free speech” is not a condition of employment), the cast and crew of her series is now out of a job.
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.
— sara gilbert (@THEsaragilbert) May 29, 2018
