ABC Cancels Roseanne Following Star's Racist Tweet

Posted on May 29, 2018

Roseanne has been canceled not long after returning to television. ABC made the decision to cancel the sitcom following a racist tweet by the show's star, Roseanne Barr. The tweet was not the first controversial tweet made by Roseanne.

Roseanne garnered a huge audience on the premiere episode of season ten. The tenth season marked the return of Roseanne after a twenty-one year absence. Season nine ended on May 20, 1997. The first episode that aired this year had great ratings and over 18 million viewers. Viewers have fallen steadily since the first episode, but the series was still getting over 10 million viewers per episode before ABC pulled the plug.

Roseanne wrote a series of tweets that included false comments about George Soros and Chelsea Clinton. The tweet that got the most attention was about Valerie Jarrett, who served as a senior advisor to President Obama. Roseanne tweeted, "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."

CNN notes that Roseanne had already been known for her pro-Trump conspiracy tweets. She took it to a new level with her racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett.

Roseanne later apologized but apparently not quickly enough for ABC. She wrote in her apology tweet, "I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. 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."

Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment, wrote in a statement, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Disney CEO Robert Iger added in a tweet, "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."