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Roseanne cancelled: ABC pulls show following Barr's 'abhorrent' racist Twitter rant at Valerie Jarrett

The cancellation news comes after 'Roseanne' fired off racist tweets at former Obama adviser

Ilana Kaplan
Tuesday 29 May 2018 15:58 BST
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ABC cancels sitcom Roseanne following Roseanne Barr's 'abhorrent' racist Twitter rant

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ABC has decided to cancel Roseanne following Roseanne Barr's racist Twitter rant about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.

In a statement, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey wrote: "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Barr has also been dropped by her agent ICM Partners following her series of Tweets

The news comes after Barr fired off a series of racist tweets comparing Jarrett to Planet of the Apes and linking her to the Islamist organisation Muslim Brotherhood.

Barr wrote, "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj" in replying to a tweet claiming Jarrett helped with cover ups during the Obama administration.

Twitter users were quick to point out that the actress-comedian's tweet seemed racist to which Barr said, "Muslims r NOT a race."

Barr then referred back to her initial tweet about Jarrett saying it was "a joke."

While the posts have been deleted, Barr penned a public apology to the former Obama adviser saying, "I apologise 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."

Shortly thereafter, Barr also announced that she would be quitting Twitter.

When Roseanne returned to ABC earlier this year, it quickly became the number one show on TV gaining the attention of 18m viewers in its premiere.

Following its premiere, the show was quickly greenlit for a second season.

Barr has yet to issue a statement about the show's cancellation.

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