By Ruth Bayang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Ding dong, the witch is dead! OK, not really. But the ‘Roseanne’ show has been cancelled. And kudos to ABC for having the cojones to do what’s right.
In case you haven’t heard, Roseanne Barr went on a racist Twitter rant on Tuesday morning.
In it, she referred to former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett as looking like the offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.”
Jarrett is Black and was born in Iran to American parents.
Barr has a long history of controversial tweets, including posts about pro-Trump conspiracy theories.
But even by her low standards, Tuesday’s remarks were egregious.
“Beyond the pale” is how one Disney source put it.
While it took some time to announce the decision, executives at ABC pretty quickly decided to boot the reboot.
“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.
Barr’s talent agency, ICM Partners, also dropped her.
“What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency,” the agency said in a statement. “Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”
Not too long ago, Roseanne, the character, made a joke about fellow ABC shows, “Blackish” and “Fresh Off the Boat.” At the end of the episode, Roseanne and Dan wake up from a nap on the couch with the TV still on.
They had missed a block of primetime TV — Dan said, “We missed all the shows about Black and Asian families.”
And then Roseanne quipped, “They’re just like us. There. Now you’re all caught up.”
She basically said the shows — featuring people of color — aren’t even worth watching.
So far, reactions to the show’s cancellation has been largely positive.
Boo hoo… not. And I say, “Good riddance.”
Ruth can be reached at editor@nwasianweekly.com.