Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) praised ABC on Tuesday for canceling “Roseanne” following Roseanne Barr’s racially charged comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
“Thank you, @ABCNetwork. You did the right thing. There is not any room in our society for racism or bigotry,” the civil rights icon tweeted.
Lewis’s comments came shortly after the network announced it was nixing “Roseanne” amid backlash to Barr sending a tweet in which she referred to Jarrett as a child of the Islamist organization the Muslim Brotherhood and the movie “Planet of the Apes.”
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Barr apologized for the since-deleted tweet on Tuesday, calling it a “bad joke” and saying that she would be leaving the social media platform.
The sitcom reboot was ABC’s top-rated comedy, with its March premier reportedly averaging 18.1 million viewers. The show was also the highest-rated regularly scheduled scripted show of the last few seasons.
Barr’s tweet spurred the show’s consulting producer Wanda Sykes to part ways with “Roseanne,” while actress Sara Gilbert, who plays Barr’s on-screen daughter, also condemned her remarks about Jarrett.
Disney CEO Bob Iger defended the network’s decision to cancel the show on Tuesday, saying it was the only option.