After another racist tweet from right-wing comedian Roseanne Barr, ABC made the decision to cancel their #1 comedy television series, Roseanne. This news comes less than two months after the series was renewed.
The disgusting tweet in question attacked top former aide Valerie Jarrett and, after substantial backlash, the comedian apologized and deleted the offending tweet. However, as is the case with the internet, everyone always takes screenshots. See the offending tweet below:
@therealroseanne tweet now deleted and apology has been issued. Screenshot here so people can still see it. Hey @ABCNetwork when someone shows you how much of a racist they are, believe them the first 500 times pic.twitter.com/teZkRo3SGw
— Mark M (@MarkDesigner) May 29, 2018
After Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment, made his announcement, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger made sure to inform Twitter where his thoughts were:
From Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment: "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.— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) May 29, 2018
Racism should never be tolerated or celebrated. Ever. And, prior to the events of today, there had been plenty of evidence that this move should have been made earlier. Need I remind everyone of that Hitler emulating photoshoot? Satire, be damned. The most unfortunate thing is that there is the potential for the series to be picked up by other networks due to its success.
However, the fact that ABC was willing to nix its top televisions series because of a racist tweet makes me wonder whether or not there will be ripple effects felt throughout Hollywood. Ratings are everything and Roseanne brought in the viewers and the ratings.
All I can say is that we will have to see where this decision takes us in the short term and long term. I’ll be watching to see what happens next.
Let another network try. I’ll enjoy watching the rest of the cast say no to working with her after this.
The show doesnt work without its excellent cast.