ABC cancels 'Roseanne' following Roseanne Barr's racist tweet, networks pull reruns
The part-time Media resident will not return to the ABC hit after Roseanne's comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett
ABC has canceled the second season of its Roseanne reboot following a racist tweet from star Roseanne Barr.
"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey in a statement.
Paramount Network, TV Land CMT, all Viacom networks, announced that they are pulling reruns of Roseanne from their schedule as well in light of Barr's comments beginning tomorrow. Laff will also pull reruns from its schedule.
>> READ MORE: I was surprised ABC canceled 'Roseanne' over tweet – here's why I shouldn't have been
Barr on Monday targeted Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, a black woman, in tweet, writing that Jarrett is the product of the "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes."
Barr later apologized for her tweet, calling it a "bad joke," and said she would be "leaving Twitter." Her account is currently still active.
The series cancelation came just hours after comedian and actress Wanda Sykes, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Media, announced she wouldn't be returning to Roseanne as a consulting producer. Prior to Skyes' departure, Whitney Cummings, a University of Pennsylvania alum, left her position as co-showrunner citing "work commitments and [her] tour schedule."
>> READ MORE: 'Roseanne' & Whitney Cummings: How the Penn grad helped bring ABC's long-ago hit back to TV
The Roseanne reboot was renewed for a second season back in March, and was set to feature 13 episodes compared to the most recent season's nine episodes. In April, this most recent season's premiere drew 18.4 million same-day viewers.
Jarrett, meanwhile, is in Philadelphia at the Prince Theater as part of an MSNBC town hall event dubbed "Everyday Racism in America," hosted by Joy Reid and Chris Hayes. At the event, she said that Disney CEO Bob Iger called her to tell her about the cancellation before it was announced.