Roseanne Barr Apologizes For Racist Joke About Valerie Jarrett Amid Public Outcry at ABC
Roseanne Barr – better known by her stage name, Roseanne – issued an apology to former Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett for saying she was the result if the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.”
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.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
Barr went on a crazy racist Tweetstorm this morning going after, among others, George Soros, Chelsea Clinton, Chris Cillizza, and Jarrett.
The first offending tweet about Jarrett has since been deleted, but the receipts are still very much available. At first, it looked like Roseanne wouldn’t be rescinding her racist remarks, insisting that Islam is not a race:
It’s a joke-
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
Muslims r NOT a race.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) May 29, 2018
Even if we grant that premise (and we don’t), there’s still the matter of the horrible, disgusting Planet of the Apes reference.
Barr is a known conspiracy theorist and mega Trumper who rose to semi-relevance in recent months due to her show, Roseanne, having a successful season premiere back in March.
Apology aside, people were horrified by the tweet and called on ABC to act:
Hey @ABC, Roseanne Barr compared Valerie Jarrett to an ape. There is no apology she can make that justifies @ABC turning a blind eye to this bigotry by airing another second of her show.
Even in the Age of Trump, there are red lines that can never be crossed. This is one.— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) May 29, 2018
So @ABCNetwork cancelled the Blackish #TakeAKnee episode partly b/c it'd be "too controversial." Yet—they celebrate @therealroseanne who just called Valerie Jarrett—an Black woman & public servant—an "Ape Baby"
•Combatting racism: Controversial
•Promoting racism: Prime Time TV pic.twitter.com/pJH4B13Lhi— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) May 29, 2018
Will ABC answer to this? https://t.co/5wBvTNvBFx
— Jason K. Morrell (@CNNJason) May 29, 2018
please stop saying "racially charged" when the proper term is "racist" but thanks to roseanne for showing us what the trump-endorsed "comedy" is all about https://t.co/Sfp1ERRct4
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) May 29, 2018
Is @ABCNetwork really giving a second season to a woman who just called Valerie Jarrett a "Planet Of The Apes" baby? https://t.co/zab3HaVLmz
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) May 29, 2018
.@therealroseanne's racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett was not the first time she's compared black people to apes (h/t @GRYKING) pic.twitter.com/bFF1E1YMDA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 29, 2018
.@therealroseanne You can delete, but you can't hide. Here's a screengrab of your vicious, racist, tweet about Valerie Jarrett… @ABC, what's your take on it? We know Donald's… pic.twitter.com/J9L4PEM6mT
— Real Fake P0TUS (@RF_P0TUS) May 29, 2018
Disney owns ESPN & ABC
When a black woman @jemelehill calls a white man, @realDonaldTrump a 'white supremacist' she gets suspended by ESPN
but
When a white woman, Roseanne, calls a black woman, Valerie Jarrett, an ape & a terrorist, she gets ignored by ABC#SuspendRoseanneNow
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) May 29, 2018
I'm sure everyone outraged over Michelle Wolf's eyeshadow joke will be equally outraged over Roseanne Barr's openly racist attack on Valerie Jarrett. That goes for the media as well. Their reaction will reveal everything. @ABCNetwork has a decision to make. Hold them accountable.
— Bruce P. Knight (@brucepknight) May 29, 2018
[image via screengrab]
