Roseanne Barr finally went too far. The former Roseanne star single-handedly destroyed the legacy of her long-running ABC sitcom with a racist tweet that has now cost her entire cast and crew their jobs. In the wake of Roseanne’s offensive tweet about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, Roseanne executive producer Tom Werner issued a statement saying he supports ABC’s decision to cancel Barr’s top-rated reboot, and he also says he hopes his former star gets the help she needs.
“I support ABC’s decision to cancel the show in the wake of Roseanne Barr’s most recent reprehensible tweets,” Werner said, according to Deadline . “Our goal was to promote constructive discussion about the issues that divide us. It represented the work of hundreds of talented people. I hope the good work done is not totally eclipsed by these abhorrent and offensive comments, and that Roseanne seeks the help she so clearly needs.”
As the Inquisitr previously reported, in a now-deleted Twitter post, Roseanne Barr tweeted about Valerie Jarrett: “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”
The backlash was fierce, but Barr’s subsequent apology wasn’t enough to save her show.
The swift fallout for Roseanne is unprecedented. In a matter of hours on Tuesday, the controversial comic lost her hit show, was dropped by her agency ICM Partners, and Roseanne reruns were pulled by Paramount Network, TV Land CMT, and Hulu, according to TV Line .
“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 one-sentence statement. https://t.co/4mSTXIbnLz
— NPR (@NPR) May 29, 2018
It didn’t take Hollywood long to react to the demise of Roseanne . Barr’s heartbroken co-stars, including her former TV kids Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman, denounced her actions on Twitter. And many other stars took to social media to blast the former Roseanne matriarch for her racist rant. The legendary Rita Moreno called out Roseanne, while Charlie Sheen used the opportunity to pitch a revival of his own sitcom, Two and a Half Men.
Morgan Freeman, who’s currently in the headlines for issues about his alleged bad behavior, wrote that he feels “sorry for everyone else who poured their hearts into this reboot, and who don’t deserve to have their jobs lost.”
This Is Us producer and former ABC star Ken Olin ( Thirtysomething ) praised ABC president Channing Dungey for promptly canning Roseanne in the wake of the social media scandal. You can see Hollywood’s reaction to Roseanne’s racist tweet and the cancelation of her show below.
@therealroseanne , you break my heart — You are a sorry excuse for a human being. How odd that you, as a comedienne, have forgotten then meaning of a “joke” and a personal comment. Your meanness is staggering and will earn you a ticket to a sad, lonely and sorry life.
— Rita Moreno (@TheRitaMoreno) May 29, 2018
Too bad we didn’t see the same backlash against the @nfl for banning black players from taking a knee against racist police brutality as @therealroseanne ’s racist tweet got. Props to @ABCNetwork ! #ByeFelicia #TeamDl
— DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) May 29, 2018
Now @therealroseanne has time to take a deep look into her heart & soul. I feel for everyone else who poured their hearts into this reboot, and who don’t deserve to have their jobs lost. But this is the cost of working with someone w/w remorse who harbors these abhorrent beliefs. https://t.co/EhYA54FEJB
— Morgan J. Freeman (@mjfree) May 29, 2018
Props to @RobertIger . He had to say yes to this. Good for Disney. Stepping up and doing the right thing here.
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 29, 2018
The terrible part is all of the talented innocent people who worked on that show now suffer because of this. #notjustice
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) May 29, 2018
But honestly she got what she deserved. As I tell my 4 year old, one makes a choice with one’s actions. Roseanne made a choice. A racist one. ABC made a choice. A human one.
— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) May 29, 2018
adios Roseanne!
good riddance.
hashtag NOT Winning.
the runway is now clear for OUR reboot.
© #CharlieHarperReturns pic.twitter.com/HcqMvIoxCM
— Charlie Sheen (@charliesheen) May 29, 2018
Roseanne Barr has not issued further comment regarding her show’s cancelation. The former Roseanne star announced she has quit Twitter.
