Roseanne Reboot Cancelled after Racist Tweet

The popular television show Roseanne was canceled this week after its leading actress made a politically incorrect joke about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had baby = vj,” tweeted Roseanne Barr at 1:45 AM on Tuesday. According to NBC, the joke came in response to accusations that Obama had spied on French presidential candidates and that Jarrett had helped Obama “hide a lot.” 

Barr apologized for the joke the next morning, which she said “was in bad taste.” She apologized to ABC, to the cast and crew of Roseanne, to her fans, and to the “hundreds of hardworking people to lose their jobs.”

Barr apologized directly to Jarrett and claimed that her “whole life has been about fighting racism.” She also apologized for an earlier tweet suggesting Chelsea Clinton’s middle name was “Soros.”

On Wednesday, Barr blamed the tweet about Jarrett on Ambien, a sleep aid used to treat insomnia. That same day, she retweeted an image of Jarrett next to an ape.

“Guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me,” tweeted Barr. “It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting – it was memorial day too – I went 2 far & do not want it defended…I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t.” 

The response from Ambien-manufacturer Sanofi was priceless: “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of a Sanofi medication.” 

ABC canceled Roseanne on Tuesday after two cast members quit.

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel the show,” said the network. 

In follow-up tweets on Tuesday night (many of which she later deleted), Barr said that she thought Jarrett was “Jewish and Persian” and accused George Soros of collaborating with the Nazis. She also suggested she was fired over her support for President Trump.

Editor’s note: She is probably right that she was fired over her support for Trump, but that does not excuse obnoxious behavior.