Tracee Ellis Ross says shelving Black-ish episode about NFL protests is ‘frightening’

Tracee Ellis Ross (seen above on June 4) said ABC’s decision not to air a Black-ish episode about NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem is ‘frightening’ 

Tracee Ellis Ross has described the shelving of a Black-ish episode about NFL players taking a knee earlier this year as ‘frightening’. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in April, after the ABC show announced in March that the episode would never be shown, Ross questioned whether or not the decision amounted to ‘censorship.’ 

It was pulled without explanation by ABC in February and has since triggered outrage among fans and the show’s creator, Kenya Barris, who questioned why it was not shown. 

Ross has not spoken publicly of it except from in her April interview which was published on Thursday.  

‘The details of why the episode was pulled and everything that has surrounded that, I do not have the answers for. 

‘To a certain extent, I have purposefully stayed out of those conversations because I have had no power to do something beyond that. 

‘So, I have asked for the information and pushed for the information that I felt would be helpful to me and constructive in what I can do with it, because I find it frightening,’ she said.  

The episode was due to air on February 27 but was shelved over ‘creative differences’, according to sources cited by Variety.

The show’s creator Kenya Barris has since reportedly sought an exit from the network.  

The February 27 episode focused on the ongoing trend of NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem in protest against racial inequality and police brutality. It was started by Colin Kaepernick (seen above in September 2016)

The February 27 episode focused on the ongoing trend of NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem in protest against racial inequality and police brutality. It was started by Colin Kaepernick (seen above in September 2016)

Ross is pictured with her Black-ish co-satar Anthony Anderson. The show has been lauded for tackling topical subjects and fans were outraged by ABC's decision to can the NFL episode without explanation 

Ross is pictured with her Black-ish co-satar Anthony Anderson. The show has been lauded for tackling topical subjects and fans were outraged by ABC’s decision to can the NFL episode without explanation 

Titled ‘Please, baby, please’, the episode honed in on the ongoing national debate over NFL players who refuse to stand and instead take a knee during the national anthem.  

It was sparked by Colin Kaepernick as a protest against police brutality towards African Americans and general racial inequality across the country. 

Critics complained that the episode was shelved while Roseanne, which sympathized more with conservative views, was allowed to carry on. 

Roseanne was canceled last month over racist tweets posted by its star Roseanne Barr.

ABC has given no public comment on the decision not to to air the episode. It ran a rerun on February 27.  

The decision put the show's creator Kenya Barris (above with Ross) at odds with ABC. He has since been considering moving the show to Netflix which is rumored to be courting himi 

The decision put the show’s creator Kenya Barris (above with Ross) at odds with ABC. He has since been considering moving the show to Netflix which is rumored to be courting himi 

The decision to shelve the Black-ish episode was put in stark perspective by ABC's allowing Roseanne to continue and promote conservative views. Last month, ABC's Entertainment President Channing Dungey (left) cancelled the show over racist tweets sent by its star, Roseanne Barr (right)

The decision to shelve the Black-ish episode was put in stark perspective by ABC's allowing Roseanne to continue and promote conservative views. Last month, ABC's Entertainment President Channing Dungey (left) cancelled the show over racist tweets sent by its star, Roseanne Barr (right)

The decision to shelve the Black-ish episode was put in stark perspective by ABC’s allowing Roseanne to continue and promote conservative views. Last month, ABC’s Entertainment President Channing Dungey (left) cancelled the show over racist tweets sent by its star, Roseanne Barr (right)

Ross gave her comments in April as part of a group interview in which Drew Barrymore, Rachel Brosnahan, Debra Messing and Alison Brie also took part.

They also discussed the #MeToo movement and how they felt the women of Hollywood were now more unified than ever before.

While Barris has not been vocal about his own dispute with ABC over the shelved episode, he spoke out repeatedly over its handling of the Roseanne Barr scandal. 

He revealed that he planned to quit the network if ABC did not, as it did later, cancel the show and end its relationship with Barr who made the abhorrent remark that lawyer Valerie Jarrett looked like ‘if Muslim brotherhood and Planet of the Apes had a baby’.

ABC’s president of entertainment, Channing Dungey, issued this statement afterwards: ‘Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.’



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