Valerie Jarrett has spoken out on the controversy surrounding Roseanne Barr’s racist tweets, saying the ABC made the right decision to cancel her show.
Barr was widely condemned on Tuesday after she tweeted that Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, looked like ‘Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby’.
ABC swiftly canceled Barr’s show ‘Roseanne’ and slammed the comedian’s comments as ‘abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values’.
Jarrett responded to the ordeal when she spoke at a town hall on MSNBC called ‘Everyday Racism in America’ later on Tuesday.
Valerie Jarrett has spoken out on the controversy surrounding Roseanne Barr’s racist tweets, saying the ABC made the right decision to cancel her show
She revealed that Disney CEO Bob Iger had called her to apologize.
‘He wanted me to know before he made it public that he was canceling the show,’ she said.
‘First of all, I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment. I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers coming to their defense.
‘The person walking down the street minding their own business and they see someone clinging to their purse or walk across the street… or every black parent I know who has a boy who has to sit down and have a conversation, the talk as we call it.
‘Those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day.’
ABC has decided to cancel Roseanne Barr’s television show just hours after the comedian posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett
‘We have decided to cancel her show,’ Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment, announced on Tuesday afternoon
Disney CEO Bob Iger tweeted about ABC’s decision, saying: ‘There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.’ Disney owns ABC Television Group
Barr came under fire for a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett during an unhinged rant on Tuesday morning
Many on Twitter were appalled by Barr’s tweet, which was in response to an article from a conspiracy website
The Disney CEO also tweeted about the decision to terminate the show, saying: ‘There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.’
Shortly after Barr’s show was cancelled, talent agency ICM Partners revealed they were dropping her as a client.
‘We are all greatly distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet from Roseanne Barr this morning,’ ICM said in an internal note to employees that was obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.
‘What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency.’
‘Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.’
It appears the cancellation of the show will also affect the cast’s Emmy prospects, as ABC revealed it is suspending the show’s FYC (For Your Consideration) campaign.
The swift fallout from the tweet began when Wanda Sykes quit her role as the show’s consulting producer and celebrities condemned Barr’s words.
Comedian Wanda Sykes had earlier revealed she would not return to the show following the comedian’s racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett (Pictured L-R: Sykes, Russell Peters, Barr, JB Smoove, Keenen Ivory Wayans in 2014)
Sykes, a consulting producer for Barr’s eponymous show on ABC, revealed the news on Twitter
Emma Kenney, who played Sara Gilbert’s daughter on the show, revealed on Twitter that she planned to quit before finding out the show had been cancelled
Tom Arnold, who co-starred on the show from 1989 to 1993 and was married to Barr from 1990 to 1994, praised the decision to cancel the show
Emma Kenney, who played Sara Gilbert’s daughter on the show, also revealed on Twitter that she planned to quit before finding out the show had been cancelled.
‘I am hurt, embarrassed, and disappointed. The racist and distasteful comments from Roseanne are inexcusable,’ the 18-year-old wrote.
‘As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I was told it was cancelled. I feel so empowered by @iamwandasykes , Channing Dungey and anyone at ABC standing up for morals and abuse of power. Bullies will NEVER win.’
Tom Arnold, who co-starred on the show from 1989 to 1993 and was married to Barr from 1990 to 1994, praised the decision to cancel the show.
‘Ton of respect for Bob Iger. Tough decision with financial consequences for his company but right for America,’ he wrote.
Michael Fishman, who played DJ Conner for the entirety of the series and was featured in the revival with a biracial daughter, said he was ‘devastated’.
‘Today is one of the hardest days of my life. I feel devastated, not for the end of the Roseanne show, but for all those who poured their hearts and souls into our jobs, and the audience that welcomed us into their home,’ he wrote on Twitter.
Michael Fishman, who played DJ Conner for the entirety of the series and was featured in the revival with a biracial daughter, said he was ‘devastated’
Sara Gilbert, an executive producer of the Roseanne revival who has played Darlene Conner for the entirety of the series, called Barr’s tweets ‘abhorrent’
Fishman said he condemned Roseanne’s statement ‘vehemently’, saying they were ‘reprehensible and intolerable’ and ‘truly offensive’.
‘My character was designed to represent the inclusive nature of my views. To represent potions of society often marginalized,’ he wrote.
‘In this moment it is important to be clear. We must stand up against bias, hatred, bigotry, and ignorance to make society a better place for all.’
Many called on ABC to fire Barr or drop the show as others criticized the broadcast network for its enduring silence amid recent controversies with the comedian.
Others were skeptical that ABC would dare touch the hit series, which is the third highest-rated show this year following Sunday Night Football and This Is Us.
The revival of Roseanne was a ratings juggernaut when it premiered on ABC to a whopping 25 million viewers in April.
It’s surprising success even elicited a congratulatory phone call and tweet from President Donald Trump.
Ratings dropped steadily thereafter, with last week’s season finale garnering 10.33 million viewers.
ABC initially ordered 13 episodes for the second season and said the show would move away from its controversial politics and focus on family.
Roseanne’s mention of the ‘Muslim brotherhood’ seems to be due to the long-running conspiracy theory that Jarrett is Muslim, despite there being no supporting evidence
Barr later claimed the comment was a ‘joke’ when she was called out on Twitter by CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski
When one user called Barr’s tweet racist, she proclaimed that ‘Muslims r NOT a race’
Roseanne later tweeted, in an attempt to defend her controversial joke, that ‘Islam is not a race’
She also retweeted an article with the headline: ‘Valerie Jarrett…was her mommy a Commie?’
The show most recently came under fire for featuring an episode in which Barr’s character believes her new Muslim neighbors are terrorists.
Roseanne’s mention of the ‘Muslim brotherhood’ in her Tuesday tweet seems to be due to the long-running conspiracy theory that Jarrett is Muslim.
Jarrett, who was Obama’s senior adviser during his presidency, was born in Iran to American parents and lived in Shiraz for six years.
The family had moved to Iran because her father was part of a program that sent American physicians to help developing countries. He ran a children’s hospital.
There has never been any indication that Jarrett or her parents are Muslim.
Barr later claimed the comment was a ‘joke’ when she was called out on Twitter by CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski.
‘ABC is doing their best to ignore some of these statements from Roseanne and she is making it really hard for them by taking it to the next level here,’ he wrote.
After Roseanne responds, Kaczynski replied: ‘understand it’s a joke, but can you see why some people think comparing a black woman to Planet of the Apes might be racist and find the Muslim Brotherhood reference to be conspiratorial and Islamophobic?’
Sara Gilbert, an executive producer of the Roseanne revival who has played Darlene Conner for the entirety of the series, called Barr’s tweets ‘abhorrent’.
A number of stars have since condemned Barr for the tweet, including Patricia Arquette and Julianne Moore. Rev Al Sharpton used ABC to fire Barr, while Rosie O’Donnell defended her
‘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,’ she wrote. ‘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,’ she added.
A number of celebrities also condemned Barr for the tweet, with some urging ABC to fire her from the show completely.
‘I am repulsed that Valerie Jarret had that racist and bigoted ‘joke’ made at her expense and I am sickened that any Black or Muslim person has to keep hearing this sickness in 2018,’ Patricia Arquette tweeted.
Not everyone was happy with ABC’s decision to cancel the show. Some stood by in their support for Barr, while others said the network should have continued without her
‘You can take @RoseanneOnABC out of racism but you can’t take the racism out of @therealroseanne,’ Don Cheadle wrote.
‘I told y’all about Roseanne. I told you. So,’ author Roxane Gay added, to which Julianne Moore replied: ‘Yes you did. #FireRoseanne.’
Reverend Al Sharpton also criticized the comedian and called on ABC to ‘take action now’.
‘The comparison by Rosanne Barr on ABC of Former Obama aide, Valerie Jarrett to an APE is racist and inexcusable,’ he tweeted.
Tomi Lahren was a rare prominent conservative voice to hit out at Roseanne.
‘What Roseanne said was wrong,’ she tweeted. ‘I’m sure she knows that. She made a mistake.’
‘I don’t know why fellow conservatives are playing mental gymnastics trying to justify it. Come on. Wrong is wrong.’
Only Rosie O’Donnell appeared to lend some support to Roseanne, writing that she loved her ‘quite a bit’.
‘The comment Roseanne tweeted was racist and childish and beneath her best self,’ O’Donnell wrote.
‘She has apologized. Twitter is a dangerous place.’
Many Twitter users called out Barr and asked ABC how they could continue to order episodes of her eponymous show (pictured)
About an hour later, Roseanne apologized to Jarrett and said she was leaving Twitter
ROSEANNE’S CONTROVERSIAL TWITTER THROUGH THE YEARS
While Roseanne Barr’s tweet about Valerie Jarrett was the final straw for ABC, the comedian has been stirring up controversy on Twitter for years.
Barr came under fire on the very night the revival of Roseanne premiered in April when she accused Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg of giving a ‘Nazi Salute’.
It appeared Barr was jumping on the conspiracy theory that Hogg and other survivors of the horrific school shooting were Nazis.
Barr came under fire on the very night the revival of Roseanne premiered in April when she accused Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg of giving a ‘Nazi Salute’.
Barr swiftly took the tweet down and claimed that she had seen a ‘doctored’ image of Hogg.
But internet sleuths found a grab of Barr’s original tweet, which revealed she was commenting on picture of Hogg raising his fist at the March For Our Lives rally.
That same week, Barr also made headlines when she tweeted about a bizarre right-wing conspiracy theory claiming Trump broke up a pedophile ring created by Democratic politicians.
Barr claimed that it was Trump who had freed ‘so many children held in bondage to pimps all over this world’.
In 2015 Barr made headlines after tweeting she ‘hope UC Davis gets nuked’ after the student body voted to divest from companies that have ties to Israel
‘He has broken up trafficking rings in high places everywhere. notice that. I disagree on some things, but give him benefit of doubt-4 now,’ she added.
The tweet was similar to when, in 2015, Barr revealed that she believed the Pizzagate conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex-ring in a pizza shop.
‘Americans! The reason #DEMOCRATS aren’t approving #Sessions is bc he will prosecure #HRC – and make arrests over PedoGate RT THIS!! WAKE UP!!’
Barr was slammed and derided for the tweets. She later apologized for mentioning child trafficking and said Twitter was ‘not the place for it’.
In 2015 Barr made headlines after tweeting she ‘hope all the jews leave UC Davis and then it gets nuked!’ after the student body voted to divest from companies that have ties to Israel
In 2012 the comedian came under fire after she spoke out against transgender bathroom rights
In 2012 the comedian came under fire after she spoke out against transgender bathroom rights.
‘Women do not want your penises forced in their faces or in private bathrooms. Respect that,’ she wrote.
After the comedian’s most recent Twitter controversies came to light, Walt Disney President Ben Sherwood responded that ‘you can’t control Roseanne Barr’.
‘Many who have tried have failed. She’s the one and only,’ he added.
But as Tuesday’s news has proved, you can still cancel here.
‘You’re a racist pig & ABC should be ashamed that they give you a platform,’ another added.
Roseanne later tweeted, in an attempt to defend herself, that ‘Islam is not a race’.
‘Islam includes EVERY RACE of people,’ she added, still without acknowledging the fact that there is no evidence Jarrett has ties to the Islamic faith.
She also retweeted an article whose headline read: ‘Valerie Jarrett…was her mommy a Commie?’
About an hour later, Roseanne apologized and said she was leaving Twitter.
‘I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,’ she wrote in a separate tweet.
‘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.’
Jarrett’s faith wasn’t the only conspiracy theory Barr tried to push on Tuesday. She also claimed that Chelsea Clinton was married to the nephew of George Soros. Clinton is married to Mark Mevisnky (pictured)
Chelsea Clinton herself was quick to shoot down the rumor, which was first propagated by actor and Trump supporter Scott Baio in 2016
Jarrett’s faith wasn’t the only conspiracy theory Barr tried to push on Tuesday.
The comedian also claimed that Chelsea Clinton was married to the nephew of George Soros, a rumor that was propagated by actor Scott Baio in 2016.
‘Chelsea Soros Clinton,’ Barr tweeted.
The theory was quickly and swiftly dismantled. Clinton is married to Marc Mezvinsky. Meanwhile, George Soros has two sons named Peter and Jeffrey Soros.
But Chelsea Clinton herself was quick to respond to Barr, writing: ‘Good morning Roseanne – my given middle name is Victoria. I imagine George Soros’s nephews are lovely people. I’m just not married to one.’
Barr first apologized to Clinton directly, tweeting: ‘Sorry to have tweeted incorrect info about you! Please forgive me!’
‘By the way, George Soros is a nazi who turned in his fellow Jews 2 be murdered in German concentration camps & stole their wealth-were you aware of that?’
In a separate tweet, Barr wrote: ‘I’m sorry-Chelsea Clinton IS NOT married to a nephew of George Soros-i apologize for the mistake!’
A spokesman for Soros has since vehemently denied Barr’s claims, calling the comments ‘insulting’ and an ‘affront to his family’.
Barr sent two tweets apologizing to Clinton, which would be her first – but not last – apologies of the day during the Twitter rant
‘[Mr Soros] did not collaborate with Nazis,’ the statement read. ‘He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody’s property.’
‘Such allegations are insulting to the victims of the Holocaust, to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honors the truth.’
Soros was 13 when he and his family, who are Jewish, survived the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Hungary by purchasing documents who claimed they were Christian.
While Roseanne Barr’s tweet about Jarrett was the final straw for ABC, the comedian has been stirring up controversy on Twitter for years.
Barr came under fire on the very night the revival of Roseanne premiered in April when she accused Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg of giving a ‘Nazi Salute’.
It appeared Barr was jumping on the conspiracy theory that Hogg and other survivors of the horrific school shooting were Nazis.
Barr swiftly took the tweet down and claimed that she had seen a ‘doctored’ image of Hogg.
But internet sleuths found a grab of Barr’s original tweet, which revealed she was commenting on picture of Hogg raising his fist at the March For Our Lives rally.
That same week, Barr also made headlines when she tweeted about a bizarre right-wing conspiracy theory claiming Trump broke up a pedophile ring created by Democratic politicians.
After the comedian’s most recent Twitter controversies came to light, Walt Disney President Ben Sherwood responded that ‘you can’t control Roseanne Barr’.
‘Many who have tried have failed. She’s the one and only,’ he added.
But as Tuesday’s news has proved, you can still cancel her.
ROSEANNE: A HIT SHOW THAT WAS CONTROVERSIAL FROM THE GET GO
Much like its revival, Roseanne was an almost instant success when it premiered in 1988.
It quickly became the number one show in America and remained in the top four for six seasons on television.
It remained in the top 20 until its final season in 1997.
The show was hailed for following a blue-collar Midwestern American family, including a mother who also struggled in the workforce.
Much like its revival, Roseanne was an almost instant success when it premiered in 1988 and quickly became the umber one show on television
It also turned Barr, who previously performed stand-up comedy on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, into a household name.
The show ran for nine seasons, featuring numerous storylines that were rare for network sitcoms in the nineties.
The show tackled episodes that focused on taboo topics for the times like homophobia, abortion, teen pregnancy, masturbation, and domestic abuse.
Barr, who has a lesbian sister and a gay brother, also made sure to feature a number of LGBT characters on the show.
One episode of the show even featured Roseanne contemplating whether or not she should have an abortion, while others discussed previously taboo topics like masturbation.
The show ran for nine seasons, featuring numerous storylines that were rare for network sitcoms in the nineties – such as issues paying bills and homophobia
The show won both Barr and Laurie Metcalf, who played her sister, respective Emmy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
It also won the prestigious Peabody Award in 1992.
ABC announced in May 2017 that it planned to do a revival of the beloved series, which aired in March of the following year.
The news garnered controversy from the beginning when it was revealed Roseanne would return as a pro-Trump grandmother.
It also featured episodes that include her husband Dan, played by John Goodman, losing his job to an illegal immigrant and Roseanne’s fears after finding out her new next-door neighbors are Muslim.