“Roseanne,” ABC’s hit revival sitcom, was canceled today just hours after the show’s star Roseanne Barr’s posted a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
Barr’s post early Tuesday morning, which has since been deleted, said that Jarrett, who is African-American, was a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes” — “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.” She has since apologized.
Barr’s comparison of Jarrett, a longtime Obama family confidant, to an ape and claiming that she has a connection to the organization Muslim Brotherhood drew immediate backlash on social media. You can see the deleted tweet below.
The tweet also immediately brought criticism from “Roseanne” star Sara Gilbert. It also prompted Wanda Sykes, a consulting producer, to quit the show in the lead up to the cancellation.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said Channing Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment, in a statement.
In a tweet, Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of Disney, said there was “only one thing to do.”
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
Iger called Jarrett before publicly announcing that the show was canceled. Barr deleted the initial tweet and apologized hours after the original comment.
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.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
In her apology, Barr called the tweet a “bad joke about her politics and her looks.” She also said she was “leaving Twitter,” but didn’t specify if that meant deleting her account.