Roseanne Slammed for Valerie Jarrett Tweet: 'What a Racist Way to Start the Day'

Roseanne Barr’s racially-tinged tweet suggesting that former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett is a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the “Planet of the Apes” was met with swift criticism on Tuesday morning.

“Wow so @therealroseanne is making ape references to #ValerieJarrett ‘this am. What a racist way to start the day,” wrote one Twitter user @SimiraNB.

Joe Scarborough, Tom Arnold and Don Cheadle were a few others that condemned Barr’s tweet. “you can take @RoseanneOnABC out of racism but you can’t take the racism out of @therealroseanne,” wrote Cheadle.

Responding to a tweet from CNN’s Brian Stelter about ABC’s handling of Barr’s twitter use, Barr’s ex-husband Tom Arnold weighed in: “@brianstelter that’s funny. ABC execs figured out a way to control me. They blocked me from promoting anything on ABC because I called out Roseanne Barr & her dangerous tweets.”

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Scarborough also took ABC to task: “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.”

Other Twitter users slammed Barr’s tweet for being Islamophobic, even referencing the episode of her ABC sitcom “Roseanne” where the Connors had Muslim neighbors.

“Where Roseanne peddles anti-Muslim bigotry and racism by calling Valerie Jarrett an “ape baby.” •But please tell me more about Roseanne’s show “confronting” her own Islamophobia? White privilege is being an open racist & Islamophobe & still getting a prime time TV spot,” wrote Qasim Rashid.

Jarrett, who is African American with no ties to the Sunni Muslim organization, was a longtime senior advisor to the Obama White House, who was constantly the subject of criticism by the right-wing.

Others compared the reaction to Roseanne’s tweet to the outcry over Michelle Wolf’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner set, where the comedian mocked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

“I hope everyone who had a problem with Michelle Wolf’s WHCD routine shows the same level of outrage over this,” added Mo Elleithee, executive director for Georgetown’s Institute of Politics & Public.

Barr is currently starring in the successful reboot of her old comedy series “Roseanne” on ABC. Other users directed their ire at ABC for continuing to employ her.

ABC did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on Barr’s original tweet.

A few hours after her original tweet, Roseanne apologized to Jarrett, saying she “should have known better” and that the “joke was in bad taste.”

https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001471669641216005

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