No One Can Pretend To Be Shocked By Roseanne’s Racism

See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya. Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer May 29, 2018

Image by Getty Images

Roseanne Barr has succeeded against all odds. Wowing an American populace who once doubted her, she has confirmed her ability to be wildly racist and Islamophobic in a single tweet. In a comment on Twitter which has since been deleted, the actress described former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, saying, “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.” The re-boot of her show “Roseanne” was canceled by ABC just hours later.

Jarrett is likely receiving a nonsensical accusation of religious terrorism because she was born in Iran. Barr’s comparison of Jarrett’s appearance to an ape, which she called “a joke,” has tremendous historic weight as a racial epithet. Since the show’s cancellation, the actress has also been dropped by her talent agency, ICM, and both groups have put out statements condemning the star’s words. “Roseanne” was a hit. But not enough of a hit to make up for calling a prominent black woman a monkey-terrorist.

When did the Barr get so low?

Roseanne cancelled? Did Nazi this coming. pic.twitter.com/V3BuKUYQuO

— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) May 29, 2018

(Roseanne pictured in a photoshoot in 2009.)

The reboot of “Roseanne” drew in major ratings and had been renewed for a second season before being canceled by ABC just hours after the erratic actress’ tweet. But Barr has been an enthusiastic and public racist for a while now. Just hours before her Jarrett tweet, Barr accused George Soros of selling fellow-Jews to the Nazis.

Jenny Singer is a writer for the Forward. Reach her [email protected]

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO