Valerie Jarrett responds to Roseanne Barr tweet and show cancellation

'I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment'

(AFP/Getty)

ABC dealt swift retribution to Roseanne Barr last night following her racist tweet about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, promptly cancelling her prime-time, eponymous sitcom that was the top show on ABC and one of the top shows across all networks.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," President of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey said, with Robert Iger, CEO of parent company Disney, adding: "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."

(Reuters (Reuters)

Asked about the situation during an MSNBC town hall on Tuesday, Jarrett said: “I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment.

"I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense–the person who’s walking down the street minding their own business and they see somebody cling to their purse or walk across the street. Or every black parent I know who has a boy who has to sit down and have a conversation, ‘the talk’ as we call it. Those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day.”

In the since-deleted offending tweet, Barr wrote: "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj." (sic).

The actor has since apologised to Jarrett, along with the "hundreds of people and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet".