roseanne been racist, why was she given a platform in the first place? greed 💲💲💲

It’s safe to say a lot of people are glad Roseanne Barr’s show was cancelled by ABC, following her racist tweets likening former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape. Good riddance!

HOWEVER… Roseanne has been racist for a while. This is not even the first time she compares a Black woman to an ape! She previously called then Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice “a man with big swinging ape balls” on Twitter.

So why was she given a platform in the first place? And what is it about her latest tweets that was off-limits? Where does a big corporation draw the line?
Hint: it’s the MONEY!
Before its cancellation, the show was blatantly normalizing racism with its endearing portrayal of Trump supporters. In fact, the network boasted about the show’s great ratings and seemed to see the controversy as an asset and a source of buzz. It should be noted that the said ratings were starting to seriously dip.

It should also be noted that ABC President Channing Dungey, who is now being praised for the cancellation, was recently in hot waters for shelving a ‘black-ish’ episode that dealt with Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the National Anthem.

Although Dungey and the network’s PR move was to declare that it was a “mutual decision” due to creative differences, it was revealed that ‘black-ish’ creator Kenya Barris was considering leaving ABC for Netflix before the end of his contract, in part due to the incident.
Right after Roseanne Barr posted her latest racist tweets, there has been a frenzy in the press, which could have resulted in calls for boycott of ABC, especially in light of the recent incidents with Starbucks, Waffle House, etc. Consulting producer Wanda Sykes then announced on Twitter that she was quitting, which added fuel to the fire.

Better late than never. This isn't new, though. Roseanne has been a known quantity for years. pic.twitter.com/hwZPf4JCXI

— 🇺🇸🇭🇹 Only4RM 🇭🇹🇺🇸 (@Only4RM) May 29, 2018

It was easy to smell the PR nightmare and potential boycott coming. As a result, ABC cancelled the show.

It’s troubling how willing we are to give the benefit of the doubt to big corporations and corporate heads. In a capitalist world, the only language corporations understand is money. And Roseanne’s racism didn’t seem to be a problem for ABC before.

So, until proven otherwise, I’ll save the cookies and pats on the back, ABC made a business decision based on financial interest.
Carry on.

– Words by Nounouche