Celebrities praise ABC for firing Roseanne over her racist tweet

Hollywood was quick to condemn Roseanne Barr after her racist tweet saw her show get axed yesterday.

Many celebrities called on ABC to cancel Roseanne’s recently revived sitcom after the star wrote that former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is African American, looked like the ‘Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby’.

Within hours, ABC did just that and announced they were cancelling the show – one of the network’s top rated series.   

Actress Minnie Driver tweeted that she was ‘so proud’ of ABC for ‘having the ethical compunction to cancel Roseanne’. 

Charlie Sheen and Minnie Driver joined a chorus of celebrities praising ABC for firing Roseanne over her ‘repulsive’ racist tweet

While Charlie Sheen welcomed the cancellation of Roseanne joking that it freed up space for the return of his own sitcom, Two and a Half Men. 

‘Adios Roseanne! Good riddance #NOT winning,’ he tweeted. ‘The runway is now clear for OUR reboot. #CharlieHarperReturns.’

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston thanked Disney CEO Robert Iger for deciding that ‘righteousness trumps profits’ by firing an ‘open racist and anti-Semite.’

British comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted his response to a fan who claimed that the network was attempting to ‘police speech’ by shutting down the show, and urged him to support Roseanne. 

Roseanne wrote that former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is African American, looked like the ‘Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby’

Many were appalled by Barr's tweet, which was in response to an article from a conspiracy website

Many were appalled by Barr’s tweet, which was in response to an article from a conspiracy website

 

She later attempted to back paddle on her racist tweet before announcing she was leaving Twitter

She later attempted to back paddle on her racist tweet before announcing she was leaving Twitter

‘This wasn’t censorship’ he responded, This was business. 

‘She can carry on saying what she wants its just that her employer has decided they don’t want to employ her any more. This is freedom.’ 

Others in the industry flooded Twitter to applaud ABC’s swift decision to cancel the show.

‘Well done,’ tweeted Goldbergs star Wendi McLendon-Covey.

‘Thank you, Channing. Thank you @ABCNetwork,’ tweeted Scandal alum Bellamy Young.

‘ABC > GOP,’ tweeted Young’s former costar Josh Malina.

Tweeted Don Cheadle: ‘You can take @RoseanneOnABC out of racism, but you can’t take the racism out of @therealroseanne …’

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston thanked Disney CEO Robert Iger for deciding that 'righteousness trumps profits' by firing an 'open racist and anti-Semite.'

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston thanked Disney CEO Robert Iger for deciding that ‘righteousness trumps profits’ by firing an ‘open racist and anti-Semite.’

 

 

Many celebs said they were 'repulsed' by the tweet and welcomed the news that Roseanne had been cancelled

Many celebs said they were ‘repulsed’ by the tweet and welcomed the news that Roseanne had been cancelled

‘Honestly she got what she deserved,’ tweeted Shonda Rhimes. ‘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.’

Before ABC’s announcement yesterday, many celebs had demanded the network fire the controversial star.

Julianne Moore tweeted the hastag #FireRoseanne, while Zoe Saldana demanded that ABC ‘#EndRacism in #mainstream media NOW!!!’

Roseanne Barr’s ex-husband, actor Tom Arnold, even claimed that ABC executives shut down his previous attempts to alert them about his ex’s ‘dangerous tweets.’

‘ABC execs figured out a way to control me,’ he tweeted. ‘They blocked me from promoting anything on ABC because I called out Roseanne Barr & her dangerous tweets.’ 

Before ABC's announcement yesterday, many celebs had demanded the network fire the controversial star

Before ABC’s announcement yesterday, many celebs had demanded the network fire the controversial star

He tweeted that he had a ‘ton of respect for Bob Iger’ for making a ‘tough decision 

Arnold also praised Disney CEO Bob Iger after ABC Entertainment president with financial consequences for his company, but right for America.’

One of the sole voices of support for Roseanne came from former Fox News host Eric Bolling – who left Fox last year after allegations he sent lewd messages and photos to his female colleagues – who tweeted: ‘No apology necessary at all @therealroseanne.’

He later deleted the tweet. 

Even Roseanne’s costars have tweeted, revealing they supported the network’s decision.

‘I am hurt, embarrassed, and disappointed. The racist and distasteful comments from Roseanne are inexcusable,’ wrote Emma Kenney, who plays Roseanne’s granddaughter.

Even Roseanne's costars have tweeted, revealing they supported the network's decision

Even Roseanne’s costars have tweeted, revealing they supported the network’s decision

‘As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I was told it was cancelled. I feel so empowered by @iamwandasykes, Channing Dungey (ABC president) and anyone at ABC standing up for morals and abuse of power. Bullies will NEVER win.’

Sara Gilbert, who played Roseanne’s daughter, added: ‘Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show.

‘I am disappointed in her actions to say the least. 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.’

Other celebs expressed their sympathy and support for Roseanne's costars

Other celebs expressed their sympathy and support for Roseanne’s costars

Other celebs expressed their sympathy and support for Roseanne’s costars.

Will & Grace star Debra Messing wrote that it was ‘devastating’ that the cast and crew had lost their jobs, calling the whole incident a ‘tragedy.’

Buffy and Firefly creator Joss Whedon added that he was ‘excited for literally anything else that Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman will do now.’

Mindy Kaling, star of The Mindy Project, even offered to write a show for Metcalf, who plays Roseanne’s sister, and Goodman, who played the star’s long suffering husband. 

From Chelsea Clinton to Planet of the Apes: How the Roseanne tweet-storm unfolded 

Roseanne Barr’s hit show was pulled from ABC after she said former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett was the lovechild of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes’.

But the scandal started in the early hours of Tuesday with tweets at an entirely different individual – Chelsea Clinton – concerning the fake rumor that she is married to a nephew of billionaire George Soros.

She then went on to rant about what she described as a Soros plot to overthrow America ‘by buying/backing candidates 4 local district attorney races who will ignore US law & favor ‘feelings’ instead-and call everyone who is alarmed by that ‘racist’.’

Following on from that, she called on Americans to unite against his narrative while throwing a reference to MK Ultra, a discontinued CIA program that right-wing conspiracy theorists believe is still ongoing, into the mix

 It was during this rant that Barr made the comment ‘muslim brotherhood and planet of the apes had a baby=vj’, using Valerie Jarrett’s initials, that would see her show axed.

Barr subsequently deleted the tweet but not before it had been copied and shared across social media, leading to swift calls for her show to be pulled from the air.

After Barr’s now-infamous Planet of the Apes tweet had been sent, Clinton replied around 9am to say that she was not in fact married to a Soros, though she admired the work his foundation does.

Barr subsequently sent a Tweet apologizing to Clinton for the mistake, though launched another broadside at Soros by claiming he was a ‘Nazi’ who betrayed Jews during the holocaust.

The actress also launched a salvo at Clinton’s actual husband, Marc Mezvinsky, saying: ‘HER HUSBAND IS THE SON OF A CORRUPT SENATOR.’

Clinton’s father-in-law is a former congressman and convicted felon who in March of 2001 plead guilty to 31 of 69 felony charges of mail, bank and wire fraud. 

 

 

 

But as the Clinton saga wound to a close Barr’s tweet about Jarrett was catching a massive amount of attention, forcing the actress to brand her remark ‘a joke’.

She also defended herself against allegations of racism by countering that Islam ‘is not a race’.

The remarks were not enough, however, and around an hour later she offered a full apology to Jarrett and announced that she would be leaving Twitter.

 

 

 

 

Shortly after midday Wanda Sykes, an African-American comedian and writer working on the Roseanne reboot, announced that she was walking away from the program.

Around an hour later ABC broke its silence over the controversy to say that Roseanne was being cancelled.

We now know that the network spent this time contacting Jarrett to apologize and inform her of the cancellation.

Barr later said that the network had bowed to pressure amid calls for a boycott of Roseanne’s advertisers, though ABC did not immediately respond to her remark.

In its statement, ABC said Roseanne’s remark was ‘abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values’. 

 



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