Al Sharpton applauds ABC for cancelling ‘Roseanne’ for calling Obama advisor an ape
ABC has pulled the plug on “Roseanne!”
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement.
This all started when the Trump supporter and star of ABC’s who fired off a racist tweet suggesting that former Barack Obamaadviser Valerie Jarrett is an ape, reports BuzzFeed.
“muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr tweeted in response to a post about Jarrett.
Barr attacked Jarrett, an African American woman who was born in Iran, in response to an article which unsubstantiated claims that former President Obama spied on the President of France. Barr’s Muslim comment toward Jarrett follows the thought process of conservatives who tried to unsuccessfully assert that Jarrett was behind a secret push to make America a “more Islamic country.” According to the fact-checking website, Snopes, that claim is “false.”
Barr took to Twitter to apologize for the smear saying, “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.” She says she plans to now leave Twitter (one can only hope for good), saying:
“It’s a joke,” she wrote in response to a CNN reporter.
MSNBC host and activist Rev. Al Sharpton released a statement after ABC pulled the plug on the reboot.
“ABC Television has done the right thing by immediately cancelling Roseanne. Whether it was Imus calling the Rutgers University women’s basketball disparaging names, a cartoonist at the New York Post making a cartoon of President Barack Obama portraying him as an ape, or a well-refined public servant like Valerie Jarrett being depicted as an ape by Roseanne Barr, there is no place in media for racism. Racism should not be tolerated by media that depends on corporate advertisers that make their money selling their goods to Americans. We are prepared togo to the city Comptrollers to have them drop stocks in media companies that engage in bigotry and racism. We salute the rapid response of ABC but we will continue to look into the hiring and business practices of all that shape public opinion in American culture.”
