Racist tweets bring an end to comedy's biggest comeback.
May 29, 2018
Just two months after picking up Roseanne for an 11th season, ABC has reversed the move. The cancellation comes after show star Roseanne Barr took to Twitter with a series of racist and anti-semitic posts. The most offending being a now-deleted tweet calling adviser to former President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett, an offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.”
The backlash that followed was immediate and intense, with numerous celebrities and pundits speaking out against her remarks. Barr subsequently apologized, calling the tweet a joke, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
Comedian Wanda Sykes was the first person involved with the show to make a move, announcing her departure from writing on Season 2 this morning. But that was just the beginning, as mere hours later, ABC Entertainment chief Channing Dungey announced that the network was cancelling the show due to her "abhorrent, repugnant" words that were "inconsistent with our values."
The decision was obviously not made lightly, as Roseanne's comeback was the biggest success story ever for a revived series. The show's Season 10 premiere in March surpassed all expectations by drawing a massive audience of 18 million viewers with an impressive 5.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. Those numbers are almost unheard of nowadays, especially for broadcast comedies.
But now instead of going on another likely-lengthy run, Roseanne's revival ends after just nine episodes, with the now-series finale airing one week ago.
Comments (153)
Point 1. You really need to take a fifth grade civics course and learn what the free speech clause of the First Amendment is about. You clearly have no idea.
Point 2. Barr's First Amendment rights were never violated, and I for one would never attempt to infringe on them. I'm a firm believer that undesirable speech has to be protected because, basically, nobody is arguing against what they feel is desirable speech.
Point 3. (related to point 1), There are potential consequences to expressing one's views. Barr has found this out. ABC isn't the government (where the 1st Amendment applies). Considering the swiftness of the actions she inflicted upon herself, she clearly had contractual restrictions that she violated. The fact her agency and production company dropped her on the same day suggests there is a pretty strong case against her. Remember the wise words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins." It really has nothing to do with fists and noses.
Point 4. Your thought process seems pretty unclear, so maybe you don't understand that pretty much nobody is disrespecting the flag, or that you, your anti semitic and white supremacist friends have no power to "get out" citizens of this country. Maybe you just can't comprehend the purpose of the peaceful and frankly respectful protests by the NFL players, and what they were protesting about. More's the pity for you. Clearly you don't live in constant fear that every time you go outside, there's a reasonable chance that you could be harassed by the police and end up dead or in prison, even if you don't break any laws.
Finally, you should reflect a bit about labeling people who disagree with you as being unpatriotic. You tried to taunt me by saying if I "don't like Roseanne expressing her 1st Ammrndment [sic] rights" I can get out. The old "Love It Or Leave IT" slogan. But consider that this viewpoint is actually the unpatriotic one. You are the one(s) wanting to silence speech you don't agree with. And that is, sadly, very UnAmerican.
Your logic about why you think it's OK for Barr to make racist insults is bizarre to say the least. That is yet another thing that says just who you are.
But as I said, she wasn't only spewing racist insults for no explainable reason. She also repeated many fully debunked conspiracy theories that only a deranged person would believe.
So, her last tweet sealed her fate, but the dozens of tweets that preceded it made it happen.
And it wasn't "just" the tweet about Jarrett. Sure that was the last straw, but it wasn't the only one. Barr has made libelous attacks on many people over the years. She frequently makes up and/or repeats debunked conspiracy theories and accusations. She manufactured this result all on her own.
I recently read that ABC is looking to develop a new show with most of the Roseanne cast which she can't claim ownership to. It will be interesting to see how they reuse the same characters without infringing on her ownership rights.
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