Roseanne reboot cancelled after Barr goes on racist, anti-Semitic rant

It achieved huge popularity in the late 1980s, and the recent reboot of Roseanne looked set to be just as successful, with actress and comedienne Roseanne Barr reprising her role as the wise-cracking mother of the Connor family, alongside her former co-stars.

However, the reboot has now been axed by ABC Entertainment just months after its launch, after Barr had a Twitter rant that’s been branded everything from “racist” to “abhorrent”.

Confirming news that the show had been dumped in an official statement, ABC said: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger – Disney owns part of ABC –  also shared the statement on Twitter, and added: “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing”.

From Channing Dungey, President of ABC Entertainment: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."
There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.

— Robert Iger (@RobertIger) May 29, 2018

The reboot first premiered just three months ago, getting huge ratings within weeks that prompted producers to confirm there would be a second series later this year. However, all filming has been pulled following backlash over Barr’s comments online.

According to multiple news outlets, Barr’s talent agency, ICM Partners, also dropped her on Tuesday. ICM reportedly said in a statement: “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”.

Meanwhile, Network Ten have since reportedly confirmed they will no longer air episodes on Channel 10 either. The network reportedly said in a statement: “Network Ten is appalled and disgusted with Ms Barr’s racist tweet and has removed Roseanne from Ten and Eleven, effective immediately.”

Read more: Original cast return for reboot of Roseanne

Barr’s tweets took aim at a series of people, including former US President Barack Obama’s former senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Hillary and Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton and Jewish billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” she reportedly wrote in the tweet about Jarrett, who is African-American. It has since been deleted.

Barr then targeted Clinton by referring to her as “Chelsea Soros Clinton” before adding that she’s “married to Soros nephew”, a direct reference to Soros, who has been targeted by many right-wing conspiracy theorists over the years.

Seeing the post, Clinton herself replied saying: “Good morning Roseanne – my given middle name is Victoria. I imagine George Soros’s nephews are lovely people. I’m just not married to one.” Rushing to apologise again, Barr then replied: “Sorry to have tweeted incorrect info about you! Please forgive me!”

However, not done there, she reportedly added: “By the way, George Soros is a nazi who turned in his fellow Jews 2 be murdered in German concentration camps & stole their wealth-were you aware of that? But, we all make mistakes, right Chelsea?”.

The claims about Soros, a left-leaning financier, have been repeatedly denied by his representatives in the past and after Barr’s tweet, a Soros spokesman called her claims insulting. Soros was just 13 when his family survived Nazi-occupied Hungary by pretending to be Christians rather than Jewish. 

“[Mr Soros] did not collaborate with Nazis. He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody’s property,” the spokesman reportedly said in a statement. “Such allegations are insulting to the victims of the Holocaust, to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honours the truth.”

Barr later apologised for the “bad joke” and announced she was leaving Twitter, writing: “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.”

https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001471669641216005

Elsewhere, Sara Gilbert – who played Barr’s on-screen daughter Darlene Conner ​on the show – also aired her disappointment, writing on Twitter: “Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least.

“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.”

Were you a fan of Roseanne? Do you think this was the right decision?