Roseanne Barr. Leah Mark.
As you are likely aware, Roseanne Barr got into some trouble today and ended up with her hit ABC show being canceled. What did she do? She compared former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett an "ape", which many people consider racist. She was fired quickly after and, of course, the whole thing has turned into a giant mess. Roseanne is a famous supporter of Donald Trump, though I wouldn't go so far as to call her a conservative, so many people are saying that this firing was motivated by politics and nothing else.
Full disclosure, I have never watched any of Roseanne's TV shows or other material. I don't really have strong feelings about here either way. I do know she has a history of saying controversial things, mostly related to politics, so this isn't surprising.
Was ABC right to fire her? I will answer that question in a second, but I do think that ABC had the right to fire her. She did bring some negative attention to the network from some very powerful and influence people, ie the former members of the Obama administration and their various hanger-ons and followers. Bringing negative attention to your business can and will get you fired. Just like I think the NFL had the right to crack down on the anthem kneelers, ABC has the right to fire Roseanne. As of right now the 1st amendment doesn't protect people from getting fired for political speech. I think there is a real discussion to be had if that should be the case or not, with me being on the "it's not ok" side, but as the law reads now they can do what they did.
But should they have done it? I don't think so. Roseanne was a huge hit for them and one that got a group of people that absolutely hate the media to give them some credit for finally allowing someone with a different view on TV. They aren't going to see this as a justified firing because she said something that some consider racist, they are going to see it as yet another example of liberal bias. Throwing away a major hit just because Roseanne said something controversial, when you knew she would eventually anyways, is not a good economic move. There is already serious talk of boycotts against ABC and there is a decent chance of that hurting the companies bottom line. The NFL found out the hard way why you shouldn't piss off red tribe America and I think ABC might be getting the same treatment.
Was what Roseanne said racist? I don't really think so, even though she was a complete idiot for saying it since so many people disagree. Scientifically we are all apes so calling someone one is essentially calling them human. It's certainly rude though but I hate the double standard that you can only use that word on people that aren't black. Nobody who is upset about what Roseanne said cared when Bush got called a chimp or Trump gets called an Orangutan, but if you say Valerie Jarrett looks like a cast member on Planet of the Apes or Obama looks like a monkey, you get in trouble. They funny thing is that objectively that there is an argument to be made in each case. They are all kind of goofy looking people, not that Roseanne is one to speak, or me either for that matter.
Still, if we as a society have decided that calling someone an ape is not ok, than it shouldn't be on a case by case basis. If it is racist to call Valerie Jarrett an ape, than it should be racist to call Trump the same thing. Conversely, if it's ok to call Bush a monkey, than it should be ok to do the same for Obama as well. People hate these kinds of double standards and would be much more understanding if there wasn't so much hypocrisy. The race of the individuals involved should not matter at all.
Of course there is also the fact that Valerie Jarrett doesn't look like a typical black women. Some of Roseanne's defenders are saying that she didn't know she is black. She has fairly light skin and though I don't think she looks white, I would not be surprised if someone mistook her for a different race. I have no idea though if that is what Roseanne was thinking, or if that should be an excuse, but I will post a picture so you can judge for yourself.
Valerie Jarrett. White House photo
I also think that people aren't going to be all that sympathetic to Valerie Jarrett. She was a major figure in the Obama White House and one of his most trusted advisers. As far as many on the Republican side think, she's a demon wearing a skin suit. That's way more offensive that what Roseanne said but I doubt I will get in trouble for saying it.
I do have to wonder if the Valerie Jarrett comments are the real reason why Roseanne has gotten fired. She also went off on George Soros, calling him a Nazi. I don't know if her claims are actually true or not, but George Soros has even more pull than the former Obama administration and even Barack Obama himself. Picking a fight with him may have been what really set this whole thing off...
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