There is absolutely no doubt that ABC made the right decision by immediately canceling Roseanne, it’s top-rated politically charged hit comedy.
It didn’t matter that star actress Roseanne Barr surged into full apology mode Tuesday after tweeting a bizarre racist rant saying Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, looks like a “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”
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.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
Barr’s apology was too little, too late, and too scripted.
Jarrett, who is African-American and born in Iran, served as Obama’s senior White House aide for eight years.
ABC wasted no time showing Roseanne the door and signaling to America that there is no place for racism in the entertainment industry.
“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 Tuesday.
ABC Entertainment cancels Roseanne Barr’s show, calling her comment on Twitter “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” https://t.co/2HJA1onFiw [Corrects link] pic.twitter.com/XEdNA8RLft
— ABC News (@ABC) May 29, 2018
“There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a tweet following the announcement. Disney is the parent company of ABC.
It’s no secret that Barr is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump but Barr, until now, has not openly attacked Obama or his senior aides. Barr quickly apologized after her racist Twitter comments and then announced she’s “now leaving Twitter.”
Reaction to Barr’s hateful tweet was swift and decisive.
Wanda Sykes, a popular Black comedian and one of the consulting producers for ABC’s Roseanne, one of America’s top comedy shows, announced through Twitter that she’s leaving the hit show because of Barr’s racist remarks about Jarrett.
“I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC,” Sykes tweeted.
I’m sure other entertainers and civil rights advocates will show their support for Sykes and ABC in the coming days.
Barr is a staunch supporter of Trump — on her show and in real life. Barr said she voted for Trump to “shake up the status quo” and Trump called Barr to congratulate her on the success of the reboot of her ABC show.
But consider this: Barr’s detestable tweet further supports the notion that racists who harbor disdain for Obama, his policies, and his former aides, are feeling even more emboldened because Trump’s bigoted rhetoric has set the tone for others to spew hate.
Hate groups are on the rise across America since Trump was elected president and more whites are reportedly calling police on innocent and unsuspecting Black citizens for no other reason than that the Black folks look “suspicious.”
ABC’s bold decision to cancel Roseanne comes on the same day that Starbucks is closing 8,000 stores nationwide Tuesday.
Employees had to participate in mandatory diversity training after police were called to arrest two young Black men who were simply conducting a business meeting in a Philadelphia Starbucks last month.
In the meantime, it seems that Barr, like many other hateful people, is following Trump’s racist disregard for African-Americans. Maybe ABC’s quick decision to cancel Barr’s show will send a powerful message to racists that bigotry has severe consequences. And Barr, who claimed she was just joking about Jarrett, isn’t laughing anymore.
ABC should be commended.
Jarrett, for her part, is taking the high road – the same way she handled the myriad of racial insults while serving in the White House for eight years with America’s first Black president.
“This should be a teaching moment,” she told an audience at the town hall for the MSNBC special ‘Everyday Racism in America’ with Joy Reid and Chris Hayes which airs Tuesday (May 29) night. “I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers coming to their defense.”
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President Donald Trump took another swipe at African-American football players saying that NFL athletes who don’t stand during the National Anthem “shouldn’t be in the country.”
It’s another example of Trump’s disdain for Black men and his disrespect for their mission to bring attention to police brutality and racial injustice. So now Trump is suggesting that Black NFL players who support racial equality leave America.
Ridiculous.
Trump was responding to a new rule by NFL owners: NFL players must stand during the National Anthem this season or their teams will be fined by the league. The new policy does give players the option to remain in the locker room during the anthem and they won’t be penalized.
“You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem and the NFL owners did the right thing if that’s what they’ve done,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
“You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem or you shouldn’t be playing. You shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country,” Trump said.
“Well I think that’s good,” Trump told Fox News. “I don’t think people should be staying in locker rooms. But still I think it’s good.”
Trump added that it’s “something ideally could have been taken care of when it first started. That would have been a lot easier.”
Trump has been consistent in his contempt for black NFL players. Last year, Trump urged NFL owners to fire players who support former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem.
In 2016, Kaepernick said he would not stand to “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
Predictably, Trump took credit for the decision by NFL owners.
“I brought it out. I think the people pushed it forward,” Trump said. He added: “You know, that’s something ideally could have been taken care of when it first started; it would have been a lot easier, but if they did that, they did the right thing.”
When it comes to race and social justice, Trump is always on the wrong side of the issues.
What do you think?
PHOTO: PR Photos
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