ABC has pulled the plug on its reboot of “Roseanne” after star Roseanne Barr made racist comments about former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett on Tuesday.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment, said in a statement.
Robert Iger, CEO and chairman of Walt Disney Company, ABC’s parent company, addressed the show’s cancellation, tweeting, “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”
Barr faced intense backlash Tuesday after firing off a series of offensive tweets targeting Jarrett, billionaire George Soros and Chelsea Clinton.
“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr tweeted, referring to Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran to American parents. She also linked Clinton to Soros, whom she claimed was a Nazi collaborator ― a conspiracy theory that has been thoroughly debunked.
Barr deleted her tweet about Jarrett later Tuesday and apologized for “making a bad joke about her politics and looks.” She neither addressed nor deleted the tweets aimed at Clinton and Soros.
Jarrett declined to comment for this story.
Following Barr’s Twitter rant, comedian Wanda Sykes tweeted that she was resigning as consulting producer for “Roseanne.” Sara Gilbert, who plays Barr’s daughter Darlene on the show, called her co-star’s comments “abhorrent.”
“I am disappointed in her actions to say the least,” Gilbert tweeted.
“This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love — one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member,” Gilbert tweeted.
ICM Partners, a talent agency, dropped Barr as a client Tuesday, a spokesman for the talent agency told HuffPost.
“We are all greatly distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet from Roseanne Barr this morning,” ICM Partners wrote in a note to employees. “What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency. Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”
A representative for Barr did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Roseanne,” a revival of the hit sitcom which originally ran from 1988 to 1997, shattered ratings records during its March premiere. Days later, ABC announced it had renewed the series for a second season.
ABC’s decision to reboot the show received mixed reactions from viewers, with many dragging the network for giving a platform to Barr, who has a history of peddling conspiracy theories and making offensive comments.
This has been updated throughout.
Clarification: A previous version of this story indicated Jarrett is “originally from Iran.” She was born in Iran to American parents.