NEW YORK — ABC canceled its hit sitcom “Roseanne” on Tuesday after the show’s biggest star, Roseanne Barr, put out a controversial tweet.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC said. The cancellation comes just months after the show premiered to huge ratings.
Following Barr’s tweet, one of the show’s consulting producers, Wanda Sykes, said she’s done with the show. “I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC,” Sykes tweeted.
JUST IN: ABC Entertainment cancels Roseanne Barr’s show, calling her comment on Twitter “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” https://t.co/aHfreKKCH3 pic.twitter.com/aSmCMK7R0R
— ABC News (@ABC) May 29, 2018
EARLIER COVERAGE:
UNDATED- Roseanne Barr apologized after a twitter rant Tuesday morning, and then announced she’s “now leaving Twitter.”
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” Barr tweeted. “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 star of ABC’s hit reboot of “Roseanne” wrote early Tuesday morning, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.” Barr was responding to a comment about Jarrett, a top former aide to president Obama. She later deleted the tweet.
CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski responded to Roseanne on Twitter about the Jarrett comment, which she replied was “a joke.”
Social media immediately lit up with criticism of both Barr and ABC, with some demanding a response from the broadcast network. ABC has not replied to CNNMoney’s request for comment.
In the past, ABC executives have privately said that they hold their noses when Barr tweets. They know some of her posts have been problematic — full of pro-Trump conspiracy theories that mislead her fans.
The executives want Barr to focus on her show. But they seem to take the position that there’s no controlling Barr, and that’s what makes her the successful comic she is.
ABC employees shared these views on condition of anonymity earlier this year, before the current Twitter controversy.
Barr also made comments on Twitter about Chelsea Clinton, tweeting, “Chelsea Soros Clinton.” She later replied in the comments that Clinton is “married to Soros nephew.” Soros is a billionaire liberal benefactor who has been the subject to many right-wing conspiracy theories over the years.
Clinton responded to Barr shortly after.
“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,” she wrote.
Barr responded back to Clinton saying, “Sorry to have tweeted incorrect info about you! Please forgive me!”
She then continued, “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? But, we all make mistakes, right Chelsea?”
This conspiracy theory about Soros has been debunked many times. The fact-checking site Snopes called it “false” back in 2016.
Roseanne’s rant is nothing new to those who follow the sitcom star on Twitter.
President Trump praised Roseanne’s big ratings following the premiere. The reboot was one of the highest-rated new shows of the season. ABC is currently in production on season two of “Roseanne.”
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (Photo: AP)
