Roseanne, the sitcom revived almost exclusively for Trump-loving middle America, has been cancelled by network ABC after star Roseanne Barr posted a racist message on Twitter.
The 65-year-old posted a message saying former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, who is black, was a child of the Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood and Planet Of The Apes.
The message drew an instant backlash, and ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey quickly released a statement saying the network has canned the show.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” Dungey said.
Bob Iger, head of ABC parent company The Walt Disney Company, tweeted “there was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”
Barr was also dropped by her management.
In the aftermath, Barr issued an apology to Jarrett, saying her flagrantly racist “joke” was “in bad taste.”
The rebooted Roseanne returned to screens earlier this year after 21 years, featuring the titular character as a Trump supporter outnumbered by her non-Trumpian family.
It drew generally favourable reviews and positively insane ratings for ABC, showing a market for television comedy aimed at a predominantly right-wing audience.
All it needed to continue: for the show’s star not to be a flagrant bigot online.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X32lP33kyOs
