The Reverend Al Sharpton is calling on ABC to act after actress-comedian Roseanne Barr made racially charged comments about Valerie Jarrett, a former top aide to President Barack Obama.
“The comparison by Roseanne Barr on ABC of Former Obama aide, Valerie Jarrett to an APE is racist and inexcusable. ABC must take action NOW!” Sharpton tweeted in response to Barr remarking Jarrett would be the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes if they “had a baby.”
Barr, who told CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski that her controversial comment was meant to be a joke, later told her 646,000 followers that she was leaving Twitter and apologized for the “bad taste” crack about Jarrett.
“I apologize. I am now leaving Twitter,” the actress-comedian tweeted.
“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,” Barr added.
The ABC revival of Barr’s four-time Emmy-winning blue-collar sitcom was rewarded with more than 22 million American turning out in its reboot premiere in late March. The season finale of ‘Roseanne’ scored 10.3 million viewers and averaged a 2.4 rating among the 18–49 age range.
At press time, ABC had not issued a statement regarding Barr’s remarks.