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Roseanne goes into meltdown, lashing out in barrage of posts after sitcom axed for racist tweet

ROSEANNE unleashed another barrage of tweets as Donald Trump added his own bizarre reaction to the racism drama.

Debbie Schipp and Emma Reynolds
7 min read
June 1, 2018 - 1:04AM
The rise and fall of Roseanne

DISGRACED TV star Roseanne Barr has gone into meltdown a day after her sitcom was axed over her racist tweets, with another barrage of strange posts.

Despite repeatedly saying she was sorry and telling fans not to defend her, she continued to retweet their supportive messages, prompting some to doubt the sincerity of her apology.

“It was sincere, but there’s just a limit of bullying I’m going to remain silent for. go away,” she tweeted the day after the cancellation, telling another critic, “I’ve been punished enough and have my own story to tell.”

Roseanne was cancelled after its star compared black former Obama official Valerie Jarrett to an ape, writing that if Islamist political movement “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”

Even Donald Trump weighed in on the drama after the actress’s rebooted hit TV show was abruptly axed by the ABC, but instead of condemning the racism expressed in her tweet, he made it all about him.

Referring to himself in the third person, Mr Trump asked why the US network had apologised to Ms Jarrett but not to him for “HORRIBLE statements” made about him on the network.

The President’s self-centred reaction to the controversy was roundly mocked, with one national radio host labelling him a “big baby”.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended his reaction, saying he was “simply calling out the media bias” rather than endorsing her tweet.

“The President is pointing to the hypocrisy in the media, saying that the most horrible things about this President — and nobody addresses it,” she told reporters. “Where was Bob Iger’s apology to the White House staff for Jemele Hill calling the President and anyone associated with him a white supremacist; to Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness?

“Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the President on The View after a photo showed her holding President Trump’s decapitated head? And where was the apology from Bob Iger for ESPN hiring Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive-laced tweets attacking the President as a Nazi, and even expanding Olbermann’s role after that attack against the President’s family?

“This is a double standard that the President is speaking about. No one is defending her comments. They’re inappropriate, but that’s what the point that he was making.”

She said she was not aware of any conversations taking place between Mr Trump and Barr.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended President Donald Trump’s reaction to Barr’s comments, which he was accused of making all about himself.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended President Donald Trump’s reaction to Barr’s comments, which he was accused of making all about himself.

Barr earlier said she “felt bad” for the President because “he goes thru this every single day.”

Responding to a photo someone shared of her dressed as Hitler on Wednesday, the disgraced actor wrote, “I’m a Jew, bigot.”

Barr later declared she had spent “a lifetime” campaigning civil rights for minorities and said her supporters had “made her feel like fighting back.”

She added: “I will examine all of my options carefully and get back to U.”

The TV star even retweeted a post suggesting Michelle Obama was behind the axing of her show, in partnership with ABC boss Channing Dungey.

In a series of tweets unleashed hours after her show was canned, Barr said she did something “unforgivable”, “egregious” and “indefensible” and admitted she “went too far”.

She said her original comments were a result of “Ambien tweeting” — a reference to the sleeping pill.

When she was called out for making excuses, she answered: “No, i didnt i blamed myself. stop lying. Yes, I have had odd ambien experiences on tweeting late at night-like many other ppl do. I BLAME MYSELF OK? it’s just an explanation not an excuse, Ok, bully?”

Ambien maker Sanofi released a blunt statement on Wednesday morning, saying “racism was not a known side effect” of its medication.

Barr told one supporter: “I gave them the weapon to kill me — I was not equipped to take all the heat. I cracked & made a stupid insensitive joke — it’s my fault.”

She even retweeted a Charlie Sheen post that read “adios Roseanne!” and said the runway was now clear for a reboot of his sitcom, Two And A Half Men.

He was among many celebrities, including Bryan Cranston, Minnie Driver and Jim Parsons, to join the criticism of Barr’s offensive comments.

Barr initially clumsily apologised, saying she was “not racist, just an idiot who made a bad joke” and planned to leave Twitter.

But she then backtracked and became more vocal than ever, taking shots at two cast members who called her out for her “abhorrent” rant.

Sara Gilbert, who plays her on-screen daughter, tweeted: “Roseanne’s recent comments ... 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.”

Barr replied simply: “Wow! unreal.”

She later told a fan: “I understand her position and why she said what she said. i forgive her. It just shocked me a bit, but I indeed f***ed up.”

She also took aim at Michael Fishman, who has played her on-screen son since the show’s start in 1988.

Fishman wrote: “Today is one of the hardest days of my life. I feel devastated, not for the end of the Roseanne show, but for all those who poured their hearts and souls into our jobs, and the audience who welcomed us into their homes.

“Our cast, crew, writers, and production staff strives for inclusiveness, with numerous storylines designed to reflect inclusiveness.”

Barr took exception to that. “I created the platform for that inclusivity and you know it. ME. You throw me under the bus. Nice!” she tweeted.

The comedian declared she wasn’t a racist, and tweeted at Jarrett directly to apologise for “hurting and upsetting u with an insensitive & tasteless tweet”.

“I am truly sorry — my whole life has been about fighting racism,” her tweet to Jarrett continued. “I made a terrible mistake which caused hundreds of ppl 2 lose their jobs. so sorry!”

While apologising repeatedly, Barr’s choice of retweets from supporters justifying her original, racist message struck a defiant tone — they included a post that juxtaposed an image of Jarrett with an image of a Planet of the Apes actor and another that said she didn’t know the Obama staffer was black.

She appeared to justify that move by tweeting that, while she was sorry for the joke that started it all, she would continue to defend herself.

She also suggested that US network ABC axed the show because of a “threatened boycott” from the show’s advertisers by “ppl who do that sort of thing”.

Critics leapt upon that declaration with swift replies, including: “I heard it was because your actions had consequences. Put your big girl pants on and take responsibility.”

“I heard it was because you can’t keep your racist typing hands off of social media,” another added.

BIZARRE DEFENCES FOR ‘RACIST’ TWEET

It comes as right-wing commentators and high-profile celebs who laud the US President, worship Barr, and decry political correctness and “fake news” rushed to her defence after the popular sitcom was cancelled, going to extraordinary lengths to support her.

With arguments including “she’s not racist” and “they’re just words”, the defences of some of her supporters seemed straight out of far-right field.

So much so that some who had traditionally agreed with their views were calling her supporters out for the “mental gymnastics” required to concoct simplistic arguments ranging from the wilfully obtuse to deliberately ignorant to “prove” that the now-deleted tweet wasn’t racist.

This, despite the fact that Barr admitted her racist comment was “in bad taste” and she should have known better.

Vehement defenders argued Barr was everything from a victim of political correctness to just plain misunderstood.

Singer Ted Nugent ignored the racist connotations of comparing African-Americans to apes.

“So Roseanne referencing a movie title is racist. Lying dishonest soulless freaks from Planet of the Apes,” he tweeted.

Conservative radio talk-show host and loyal Trump defender Bill Mitchell joined the fray, tweeting that in Planet of the Apes, the apes were superior, so comparing Jarrett to an ape wasn’t racist.

He deleted that tweet, but doubled down with another barrage or posts, arguing Barr wasn’t racist “she just doesn’t like Jarrett” and cancelling her show was an over-reaction.

Anyway, he argued, they were just “words”.

Anyway, he argued it’s not like Barr had ever been accused of being racist before.

Except Barr does have form with both offensive outbursts, and racist ape insults: five years ago calling then-US National Security Advisor Susanne Rice, another African American woman, a “man with big swinging ape balls”.

The justifications were all too much for some fellow right-wingers like high-profile conservative commentator Tomi Lahren.

Lahren’s outspoken views have seen her compare the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ku Klux Klan — but she drew the line at the “mental gymnastics” being used to defend Barr.

Meanwhile, some were saying Barr’s demise was political correctness gone mad, and a victory for the thought police.

Others used a picture of comedian and TV host Bill Maher comparing Mr Trump to an orange orang-utan to argue Barr’s axing was a classic example of double standards.

Barr’s most high profile supporter is the US president himself.

When the rebooted Roseanne show resumed, Mr Trump personally phoned her to congratulate her on the show’s big ratings.

In the wake of Barr’s axing, his personal Twitter account has so far remained silent.

Disney chairman and CEO Robert Iger said cancelling Roseanne was an easy decision, tweeting: “There was only one thing to do here and that was the right thing.”

His statement came just minutes after ABC President Channing Dungey announced the rebooted sitcom was cancelled in a statement calling Barr’s tweets “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”

Barr was also dumped by her agents, ICM Partners, who said Barr’s tweet was “disgraceful,” “unacceptable” and “antithetical to our core values.”

The company said it ended its relationship with Barr “effective immediately.”

Reboot, revive, repeat: the new era of old TV

Originally published as Roseanne goes into meltdown, lashing out in barrage of posts after sitcom axed for racist tweet

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/television/shes-not-racist-she-just-doesnt-like-valerie-rightwing-rush-to-defend-roseanne/news-story/5f6bdff959acccac671fd8d616f181fa