ABC Cancels 'Roseanne' After Barr's Racist Remark

After racist remarks on Twitter from Roseanne Barr, ABC has abruptly and dramatically cancelled “Roseanne” — which this season rose to become the No. 1 broadcast TV entertainment show among key viewers.

Early Tuesday morning, Barr tweeted a remark, where she referred to former top President Obama aide Valerie Jarrett: "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."

Barr insisted it was a joke: “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.”

Following this, Wanda Sykes, consulting producer on “Roseanne,” tweeted that she was leaving the show.

ABC quickly responded as well.

advertisement

advertisement

Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, issued a statement: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

For its March 27 premiere, the show shocked many TV analysts, earning a Nielsen 18.4 million total viewers and a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49 viewers. After eight shows this season, "Roseanne" has been averaging 13.5 million viewers and a 3.5 rating among 18-49 viewers.

The show’s 3.5 rating is the best among all entertainment shows, positioning it in second place after CBS' “The Big Bang Theory” among all viewers -- 14.0 million to 13.5 million.

The original “Roseanne” show ran on ABC from 1988 to 1997. 

For ABC this season, “Roseanne” has pulled in $39.6 million in national TV advertising since its debut, according to iSpot.tv. More than 500 different brands aired on the show this season.

Major spenders on the show include: PepsiCo, Samsung Mobile, McDonald’s, T-Mobile, Hotels.com, Lyrica, Microsoft, Mountain Dew, Netflix, Warner Bros, Hotels.com and Pet Smart.

Mid-day Tuesday trading of Walt Disney stock was down 2.6% to $99.56.

3 comments about "ABC Cancels 'Roseanne' After Barr's Racist Remark".
Check to receive email when comments are posted.
  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, May 29, 2018 at 3:36 p.m.

    It never fails to amaze me how many celebrities forget that when they vent their hatred and rage by tweeting online, everyone will take note and there will be bad consequences. I wonder if Barr gets it that her behaviour affects many people ---actors, writers, directors, others, associated with her show and dependeing on her----probably not. Sad.

  2. Peter Rosenwald from Consult Partners, May 30, 2018 at 2:30 p.m.

    Perhaps, hopefully, ABC`s immediate and certainly costly action will set the bar for similar actions by `celebrities` who believe they are free of the restraints of a civilized society. Money must come second to doing the right thing. 

  3. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, May 30, 2018 at 7:21 p.m.

    Disney. This downward 2.6% shall pass. It is not due to this monster; there are other problems.

Next story loading loading..