Roseanne Cancellation

Overview

The Roseanne Cancellation refers to the sudden removal of the American television comedy Roseanne from the ABC television network. This occurred on May 29th, 2018 as the result of a controversial tweet written by the show's star and creator Roseanne Barr about Valerie Jarret, an African American former advisor to President Barack Obama, which many interpreted as a racist.

Background

On March 28th, 2018, the ABC television network aired the first two episodes of season 10 of Roseanne, the first two episodes of the series in more than 20 years. While many found the show's politics to be disconcerting, the series received mostly positive reviews, and more than 18 million people watched the show's premiere.^[1]

Two months later on May 29th, Roseanne Barr responded to a thread on Twitter about Valerie Jarret, a former aide to President Obama. In the thread, she Twitter,^[2] "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj." The tweet (shown below), which echoes the stereotypical and racist caricature of black people being compared to apes, has since been deleted.

Developments

Cast and Crew Reaction

Shortly after the post was widely reported, comedian and _Roseanne_'s head-writer Wanda Sykes announced that she would not be returning to the series, tweeting,^[3] "I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC." The post (shown below, left) received more than 25,000 retweets and 210,000 likes in 24 hours.

One of the show's stars, Sara Gilbert tweeted,^[8] "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." The post (shown below, left) received more than 12,000 retweets and 88,000 likes in 24 hours.

Emma Kenney, who played Roseanne's granddaughter on the series, tweeted,^[9] "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." Within 24 hours, the tweet (shown below, center) received more than 4,600 retweets and 34,000 likes.

The actor who portrayed Roseanne's son, Michael Fishman, tweeted^[10] a statement in which he said, "I condemn these statements vehemently." The post (shown below, right) received more than 1,600 retweets and 9,000 likes in 24 hours.

Network Response

Following Roseanne's tweet, ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey, the woman who ordered the Roseanne reboot, canceled the series. In a statement,^[4] Dungey said, "Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Online, people within the television industry commended Dungey for her decision. The chairman and CEO of Disney, ABC's parent company, Robert Iger tweeted,^[5] "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing." The post (shown below, left) received more than 9,000 retweets and 50,000 likes within 24 hours.

Additionally, several ABC's stars and creators shared their appreciation for Dungey's decision. Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Grey's Anatomy) tweeted,^[6] "But honestly she got what she deserved. 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." The post (shown below, center) received more than 18,000 retweets and 113,000 likes in 24 hours.

Director Ava Duvernay, director of Disney's A Wrinkle in Time tweeted,^[7] "For the record, this is Channing Dungey. Sitting on top of your world like a Queen in full judgement of your garbage and taking it out. #Roseanne." Within 24 hours, the tweet (shown below, right) received more than 12,000 retweets and 60,000 likes.

Roseanne's Response

Barr initially responded to accusations of racism by calling the tweet "a joke."^[11] However, that morning, she tweeted the first of several apologies for the comments. The first tweet^[15] read, "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." The post (shown below) received more than 6,000 retweets and 37,000 likes in 24 hours.

Though out the day, Barr continued to both apologize and defend her comments. That morning, she tweeted,^[14] "ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people." Within 24 hours, the post (shown below, left) 4,000 retweets and 15,000 likes.

Additionally, Barr tweeted^[12] an apology to Valerie Jarrett. She said, "@ValerieJarrett I want to apologize to you. I am very sorry to have hurt you. I hope you can accept this sincere apology!" The post (shown below, center) received more than 200 retweets and 1,000 likes in 24 hours.

She also tweeted,^[13] "hey guys, don't defend me, it's sweet of you 2 try, but…losing my show is 0 compared 2 being labelled a racist over one tweet-that I regret even more." The post (shown below, right) received more than 3,700 retweets and 20,000 likes in 24 hours.

Later that evening she released an apology.^[16] Barr said:

"I deeply regret my comments from late last night on twitter. Above all, I want to apologize to Valerie Jerrett, as well as to ABC and the cast and crew of the Roseanne show. I am sorry for making a thoughtless joke that does not reflect my values -- I love all people and am very sorry. Today my words caused hundreds of hardworking people to lose their jobs. I also sincerely apologize to the audience that has embraced my work for decades. I apologize from the bottom of my heart and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

Ambien Defense

That evening, Barr claimed the initial tweet was made due to her taking the sleeping medication Ambien. She tweeted, ^[16] "guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting -- it was memorial day too -- i went 2 far & do not want it defended -- it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but…don't defend it please."

Sanofi, the makers of Ambien responded to the Barr's defense. They tweeted,^[17] "People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication." Within 24 hours, the post (shown below) received more than 19,000 retweets and 44,000 likes in 24 hours.

The Conners

Shortly after Roseanne's cancellation, various media outlets began reporting a rumor that a spin-off of the series, sans Barr, would be produced by ABC.^[26]

Less than one month later, on June 21st, ABC^[27] announced, The Conners, a new spin-off series starring the supporting cast of Roseanne but without Barr. Additionally, the network announced that Barr would have "no financial or creative involvement in the new series." In statement, the network said, "The Conners’ stories demonstrate that families can always find common ground through conversation, laughter and love. The spin-off will continue to portray contemporary issues that are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago."

In a joint statement, the cast of Roseanne said:

"We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience. We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter."

Barr also commented on the announcement, stating that she signed a settlement to relinquish her rights so that "200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved."

Following the announcement, people made jokes about the spinoff, comparing it to the infamous Simpsons Poochie episode and drafting mock scripts for the return episode (examples below). Twitter^[28] published a Moments page regarding the spinoff announcement.

Online Reaction

Many online were outraged by Roseanne's tweets. Barr's ex-husband Tom Arnold tweeted,^[18] "Ton of respect for Bob Iger. Tough decision with financial consequences for his company but right for America….umm..now don't bug Bob but maybe someone else find out if I'm still banned from all of @ABCNetwork for calling Roseanne Barr out first on her racist conspiracy tweets?" Within 24 hours, the tweet (shown below, left) received more than 5,500 retweets and 33,000 likes.

Others discussed what cast members John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf could do together with the show canceled. Twitter^[19] user @MilesToGo13 tweeted, "I hate that Roseanne took the livelihoods of cast and crew she didn't speak for with her. Can we just rebrand the show 'Dan' and have John Goodman hang out with Jeff Bridges, slowly transitioning the whole thing to a Big Lebowski TV run?" The post (shown below, center) received more than 2,300 retweets and 14,000 likes in 24 hours.

Some defended Barr's comments. Twitter^[20] user @ElderLansing tweeted, "Libnuts bash our great POTUS Trump and his family 24/7 and openly call for his assassination, but get your feelings hurt because Roseanne says Valerie Jarrett looks like The Muslim Brotherhood and Planet Of the Apes had a baby😂 Idiots! I stand by Roseanne! @therealroseanne." The post (shown below, right) received more than 2,500 retweets and 5,300 likes in 24 hours.

Barr's defenders began posting a screen-capture of comedian Bill Maher comparing United States President Donald Trump to an orangutan. Right-wing activist Jack Posobiec tweeted,^[24] "I'm so old I remember when Bill Maher claimed President Trump's 'mother had sex with an orangutan' and kept his job." The tweet (shown below) received more than 5,900 retweets and 9,000 likes in 24 hours.

Twitter published several Moments pages about the cancellation.^[21][22][23]

That day, Redditor ^[25] grand_nagus_gary posted about the cancellation the /r/television subreddit. The post received more than 49,000 points (79% upvoted) and 14,000 comments.

YouTube Response Video

On July 19th, 2018, Barr uploaded a video to her YouTube channel titled "Roseanne explains the Valerie Jarrett tweet," in which she loudly yells "I thought the bitch was white" when asked about the tweet controversy (shown below). Within one week, the video gained over 1.3 million views and 5,500 comments.

Sean Hannity Interview

On July 26th, 2018, Barr was interviewed as a guest on The Sean Hannity Show, during which she discussed the tweet (shown below). During the interview, she asserted the comment was meant to be "political" and not "racial," claiming that she had no idea that Jarrett was an African American.

That evening, a Moments^[29] page titled "Roseanne Barr opens up about her exit from ABC" was published on Twitter. The following day, The Daily Dot^[30] published an article on the interview titled "Roseanne Barr calls racist tweet a ‘big misunderstanding’ on ‘Hannity’."

Search Interest

External References