ABC Learns The Hard Way That Canceling ‘Roseanne’ Was A Disastrous Mistake
source: https://goo.gl/3ZDvPq
On Tuesday, ABC made the decision to cancel Roseanne Barr’s hit comedy — the highest rated show on television — after Barr released a tweet comparing Barack Obama’s former aide Valerie Jarrett to “Planet of the Apes.” However, in the days following the initial incident, it became apparent just how hypocritical ABC’s decision really was. Now, the network has learned the hard way that canceling “Roseanne” has amounted to a disastrous mistake.
On Tuesday, Roseanne Barr’s pro-Trump comedy was canceled — despite the fact that it was the top-rated show on television — after she released a tweet comparing former top Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to “Planet of the Apes.”
ABC has pulled the plug on the revival “Roseanne.” The move comes after series star and creator Roseanne Barr made a comment on Twitter Tuesday morning referring to former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett as looking like the offspring of the “Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.” Jarrett, an African-American, was born in Iran to American parents.
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger voiced his support for the cancellation, tweeting, “There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”
Barr deleted her tweet about Jarrett not long after posting it. She followed it up with an apology that read, “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. I am now leaving Twitter.” [Source: Variety]
In the wake of the controversy, there has been heated debate surrounding the double-standard that Hollywood seems to employ when it comes to what right-leaning celebrities are permitted to say versus their liberal counterparts. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted as much during her daily briefing on Wednesday, saying, “Where was Bob Iger’s apology to the White House staff for Jemelle Hill calling the president and anyone associated with him a white supremacist, to Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness?”
“Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the president on ‘The View’ after a photo showed her holding President Trump’s decapitated head?” Sanders furthered. “Where was the apology from Bob Iger for ESPN hiring Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive tweets attacking Trump as a Nazi and even expanding Olbermann’s role after that attack against the president’s family?”
Indeed, it seems wholly unfair and tremendously hypocritical for ABC to cancel Roseanne Barr’s show, especially given its overwhelming success, when other celebrities have also said incendiary things and gone on to enjoy lucrative careers. The only difference seems to be that Roseanne targeted a well-known Democrat, while her liberal counterparts took aim at Republicans.
With the controversy surrounding ABC’s hypocrisy still fresh, it has now been revealed that the network stands to lose a whopping $60 million dollars per year for their decision to cancel “Roseanne”:
The abrupt cancellation of Roseanne will not come cheap. Although the decision was widely viewed as necessary given the racist nature of star Roseanne Barr’s social media attack on Valerie Jarrett, the former senior adviser to Barack Obama, several sources with knowledge of the situation suggest that ABC and parent company Disney could be on the hook for “tens of millions of dollars.” And that doesn’t include the forgone ad revenue, as broadcast’s No. 1 show was expected to drive at least $60 million in its 11th season, according to Kantar Media. [Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
We now know that an agenda is more important to ABC than the company’s bottom line, which is a very scary thought. If they’re willing to lose $60 million in ad revenue simply to silence Roseanne Barr, one shudders to think what they wouldn’t do in support of the liberal agenda.
This was never about “doing the right thing.” If it were, Jamele Hill would not have a job and neither would Joy Behar, Kathy Griffin, or Keith Olbermann. ABC took the first opportunity they could to take down one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters, and now, the network is paying the price for their hypocrisy.
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