2018 was quite the year for Roseanne Barr after ABC ordered to reboot her popular sitcom Roseanne, which first hit TV screens back in 1988 and later concluded in 1997. During its original run, the comedy program was one of the most-watched shows on television, generating a whopping 18 million viewers per episode, turning the 69-year-old into a household name.
Roseanne, who was also credited as an executive producer of the show, was delighted to hear that in 2017, ABC had greenlit a reboot, which was set to air in early 2018. And to nobody’s surprise, the revival was a huge success, with the network later announcing it had commissioned a second series following a successful first run.
Unfortunately, though, things quickly began crashing down for the mother-of-five after a series of controversial tweets from the TV star, where Roseanne had likened former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett to a character from the Planet of the Apes.
ABC later released a statement saying they found the remark to be “abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values,” prompting the network to reverse their decision for a second series and ultimately going on to cancel the show entirely on May 29, 2018.
Why Did Roseanne Barr Get Canceled?
Just two months after the return of Roseanne on ABC, the actress found herself in a serious controversy after having posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American woman who was a senior adviser to Obama throughout his presidency.
Valerie was deemed the most influential aid on the former president’s team.
And for whatever reason, Roseanne thought it would be appropriate to make a comment about the political adviser in a tweet which read, “is the muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”
The comment did not sit well with fans, who took to the tweet’s comment section, asking why Roseanne felt her remark was appropriate, regardless of how she may have felt about the Obama administration.
Making those comments about another person were uncalled for, and fans certainly agreed.
Within hours, ABC said they were investigating the matter but stressed that they were taking the incident very seriously.
It should be noted that just weeks before the scandal, the network had already announced it had renewed the Roseanne revival for a second series as the show’s viewership had impressed executives enough to bring it back for another run.
In a statement in May, however, the president of ABC Entertainment shared: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
Did Roseanne Barr Apologize For Her Comments?
Roseanne apologized for her insensitive and rather inappropriate comments, but the damage had already been done.
ABC no longer felt they could continue their working relationship with the actress, prompting them to cancel the series entirely.
They also didn’t feel comfortable keeping the show going on considering the series is based on Roseanne’s character.
After the show’s cancelation, Roseanne hopped back onto Twitter, explaining how she had “begged” executives at ABC not to pull the plug on the sitcom and that she would make amends for her inappropriate remark.
“I begged Ben Sherwood at ABC 2 let me apologize & make amends,” she tweeted to her 855k followers at the time.
“I begged them not to cancel the show. I told them I was willing to do anything & asked 4 help in making things right. I’d worked doing publicity4 them 4free for weeks, traveling, thru bronchitis. I begged4 ppls jobs (sic).
“He said: ‘What were you thinking when you did this?’ I said: ‘I thought she was white, she looks like my family!
“He scoffed & said: ‘What u have done is egregious, and unforgivable.’ I begged 4 my crews jobs. Will I ever recover from this pain? Omg (sic).”
Roseanne Issued Another Explanation For Her Tweet
The comedian later concluded by saying that her racist tweet was caused by “Ambien tweeting,” saying she had been taking the sedative pill used a sleeping aid.
“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. ty”
Still, there wasn’t much that Roseanne could say that was going to change ABC’s decision — the show was not going to return, leaving its cast and crew out of a job.
Roseanne hasn’t returned to TV since.
