ABC on Tuesday abruptly canceled hit sitcom “Roseanne” after its star, Roseanne Barr, went on a Twitter rant in which she compared former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape.
In a since-deleted tweet, Barr suggested that Jarrett, who is Black, is a product of the Muslim brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.”
ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said the tweet was “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel the show.”
Comedian Wanda Sykes, who served as a consulting producer on “Roseanne” this season, earlier in the day announced her departure from the show amid the fallout from Barr’s tweet.
Barr initially attempted to defend her comment, tweeting: “ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.” But as the backlash grew, she deleted the original tweet, announced her departure from Twitter and issued an apology to Jarrett:
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”
Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton responded that Barr’s rant was inexcusable.