It's been a whirlwind week for the cast and crew of Roseanne, with one tweet from the show's star and producer, Roseanne Barr, changing everything. The sitcom star directed an overtly racist insult at former presidential aide Valerie Jarrett, and within hours ABC responded by cancelling the series, which had already been renewed for another season. ABC is reportedly considering a continuation of sorts centered on Roseanne's daughter Darlene Conner (played by Sara Gilbert).
The fallout has been fierce, with everyone from Barr's co-stars to the President reacting to the initial tweet and the news of Roseanne's cancellation. So much has gone on in the last few days that it's not easy to keep track of it all. Luckily, we've done it for you.
- This Page: The Tweet, The Backlash & The Cancellation
- Page 2: Replacements Line Up, Roseanne Reacts & Trump Wades In
One Tweet Started It All
On Tuesday, the notoriously outspoken Roseanne Barr took to Twitter to compare Valerie Jensen, attorney and former senior aide to Barack Obama, to a character from Planet of the Apes. The tweet has since been deleted, but that didn't stop thousands of Twitter users, including multiple celebrities, calling her out for it. Barr apologized for her actions and claimed she was leaving Twitter, but she wasn't silent for long.
Cancellation Was Swift
Unsurprisingly, Barr's racist and deplorable tweet earned a swift reaction from ABC, home to the Roseanne revival. Wanda Sykes, who has served as a consulting producer on Roseanne, very quickly tweeted that she would not be returning to the show and then, amid calls across social media for the show to be cancelled, the following statement arrived from ABC Entertainment President, Channing Dungey:
Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.
In solidarity, Walt Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger, firmly backed Dungey's statement, tweeting from his personal account that "there was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."
Related: Why Cancelling Roseanne Was the Smart Thing to Do
Roseanne's Co-Stars React
The cancellation of the Roseanne show was a direct reaction to Barr's behavior, but it also meant that the cast and crew suddenly found themselves out of work. Sara Gilbert, who played Roseanne's daughter Darlene, responded to the news on Twitter, calling Barr's comments abhorrent, and adding "This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us." Her sentiments were echoed by her co-star and on-screen brother, Michael Fishman, who tweeted a longer statement, saying her felt devastated for "all those who poured their heart and soul into their jobs."
The Backlash Continues
Keep in mind all of the above events had taken place across just a few hours. That's bad enough, but it didn't stop there. With the cancellation of Roseanne's planned second season on ABC, multiple Viacom owned stations, along with Hulu and digital platform Luff, pulled reruns of the original nine seasons of the show. The decision wasn't really a surprise, but the speed with which it was all announced was definitely a reflection of just how seriously the stations had taken Barr's tweet. By this point, it was apparent that there for Barr, there was no coming back from this. But now that the actress had left Twitter, we'd never get to hear her thoughts.
Page 2: Replacements Line Up, Roseanne Reacts & Trump Wades In
Roseanne Barr Responds Defiantly
Barr did return to social media, tweeting up a storm. Initially, she seemed apologetic, and made a point of saying she felt bad for all those who had lost their jobs. Only then she began retweeting her fans, who were defending her with the hashtag #StandbyRoseanne. Shortly after that, in another abrupt turn, she asked her supporters not to defend her. However, since then, the actress has continued to retweet and engage with supporters, especially those who claim her treatment was unfair in comparison to liberal's behavior.
Barr also responded to Gilbert and Fishman's tweets, seemingly trying to provoke further reaction, though she was unsuccessful. In response to Fishman, who played D.J. on the show both as a child and an adult, she replied: "I created the platform for that inclusivity and you know it.ME. You throw me under the bus. Nice!” While to Gilbert she seemed slightly less hostile, simply replying with "Wow! Unreal." Later on, Barr seemed to (sort of) excuse Gilbert's stance on the matter: “I understand her position and why she said what she said. I forgive her. It just shocked me a bit, but I indeed fucked up … She’s distancing herself from me and my tweet-she has to.”
The Blame Shifts to Ambien
While everyone was shocked by Barr's initial tweet and then the very quick backlash and repercussions, the most shocking (and frankly, hilarious) moment came when Barr took to Twitter again to try and defend her actions in yet another tweet that is now deleted: "guys I did something unforgivable so do not defend me. 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 -- it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but...don't defend it please." As if to reiterate that the sleeping drug was to blame, she also added that she's done "weird stuff" when on Ambien including, apparently, cracking eggs on the wall at 2am.
The Makers of Ambien Respond
Sonofi, the makers of Ambien, were quick to respond to Barr's tweets with a statement that reflected the ludicrous nature of her claims when they pointed out "While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication." Dictionary.com went one further on Twitter, giving the the meaning of the word "ambient," which is where the brand name Ambien comes from.
Replacements Line Up
The cancellation of Roseanne leaves a hole in ABC's scheduling, of course, but they needn't worry; many Twitter users are suggesting alternatives, including the return of Agent Carter. Zach Braff not so subtly pointed out that his own ABC show, Alex, Inc. had been cancelled even though he's not a racist, while Brian Fuller was quick to offer the return of Pushing Daisies, which would certainly be popular with its fanbase. However, there's still a possibility that the spirit of Roseanne could live on in one way or another, whether that's with a spinoff following one or other of the central characters, or by killing the character of Roseanne off and continuing the show without her. Right now, though, ABC has remained silent any possible replacement.
President Trump Wades In
Never one to let a tweeting opportunity pass him by, Donald Trump came to the aid of his long-term supporter, Barr, by attacking Disney Chairman Bob Iger on May 30th and May 31st.
Meanwhile, a former Trump aide, Michael Caputo, has announced his plans to try and save Roseanne by taking it to his online streaming startup, Bond. But with cast and crew distancing themselves from Barr's comments, regardless of their political leanings, would anyone from the show be willing to work with her again?