This was a choice the network did not have to make. Roseanne was the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society. Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord. The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country.
Through humor and a universally relatable main character, the show represented a weekly teaching moment for our nation. Yet it is often following an inexcusable -- but not unforgivable -- mistake that we can discover the most important lesson of all: Forgiveness. After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness. In a hyper-partisan climate, people will sometimes make the mistake of speaking with words that do not truly reflect who they are. However, it is the power of forgiveness that defines our humanity.
Our society needs to heal on many levels. What better way for healing than a shared moment, once a week, where we could have all enjoyed a compelling storyline featuring a witty character – a woman - who America connected with, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. The cancellation of Roseanne is an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris, and a refusal to forgive.
October 17, 2018
Killing Roseanne "through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show."
Says a statement from Roseanne Barr (and her rabbi, Shmuley Boteach) posted on Facebook. Roseanne got kicked off the show she created and, to go forward without her, was that she died. But, of course, real-life Roseanne isn't dead, and the presumed audience for the Roseanneless "Roseanne" (AKA "The Conners'), probably misses her, and yet they are supposed to absorb the narrative that Roseanne died of drugs.
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104 comments:
She should have stood her ground. I'll call anyone anything I want. Fuck forgiveness. It's man up.
The plan for surplus old people leaks.
Put a man in charge of the matriarchy if you want it to work.
Plan B was to have her succumb to a heart attack while beating a puppy.
She compared a black woman to a monkey. Just imagine the trouble ABC would have had if they hadn't dumped her.
The left despises our country for the very reasons it is great.
This is just one more example that the leftists are enemies of freedom and incompatible with a society made up of citizens.
They will only lord over serfs.
Maybe Roseanne and her rabbi, Schmuley Boteach, should do their own sitcom.
Sorry. Shmuley Boteach.
Vicious and petty way to write her out.
Very Hollywood with continued Democratic virtue signaling.
She committed Apostasy and is being treated as a heretic.
This is really going to piss off her fans.
"Connors" down 35% from last years "Rosanne" ratings. Go woke go broke.
Roseanne tweeted "I'm alive bitches!" or something like that.
weekly teaching moment
*gag*
Valerie Jarrett does resemble that character. What she said was in a tweet. Compare that to some of the things "comediennes" Whoopie and Joy Behar say daily on The View.
Do ya love me truly, Shmuley?
I watched most of the reboot episodes last Spring, partly because I recorded it on TiVo after the second episode. I didn't even check to see if TiVo recognizes this as the same show and recorded it, or not. Out of curiosity I would have watched the first episode, but not sure it got recorded or not. If it didn't, I don't think I'm even gonna make the effort. Sorry ABC.
Side note: it comes on the same night (Tues) as several other shows that my wife records (including Lethal Weapon). Lethal Weapon had their own version of this situation when they killed off Riggs at the end of last season (the Mel Gibson character in the movies). Apparently the actor playing Riggs was abusive on the set (that's the rumor) and they decided to kill off the character instead of recast him. This season isn't as enjoyable with the new guy (who happens to be STIFLER from the American Pie movies). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE ME SOME STIFLER, and I like some other movies he's been in. But he's much more serious than the Riggs character was and it really drags down the show.
So Jeff, you're saying she lied when she said she didn't know ValJar was black?
No #believewomen for you, Roseanne.
ABC is owned by Disney. Who amongst us thinks Disney wants to be seen as racist? Some of you have taken leave of your senses.
This is like the Truman show when Truman's dad refuses to stay dead.
In the old days, a network could just make a show and the audience watched it the way it is. In the new social media days, the show is just part of the bigger show.
Ground control to Major Tom:
It's a TV show.
"This was a choice the network did not have to make."
If the idea was to convey that Roseanne's demise was self-inflicted, that probably explains why the network green lighted it.
But I tend to think her audience is more nuanced about the opioid crisis than the network executives who have made one blunder after another in the decimation of the show's following.
To continue the allegory, ABC network and program executives administered Roseanne a "hot shot".
But will they be held accountable?
Too bad she didn't call her a feckless c*nt, she would still have her job!!!
So Jeff, you're saying she lied when she said she didn't know ValJar was black?
No, I'm saying it doesn't matter. She created a huge PR problem for Disney which could easily threaten half or more of their revenues. They had to get rid of her immediately or go bankrupt.
I think Roseanne should do one of several things (or maybe all of them):
1) Troll tweet every episode of The Connors. Make jokes about the actors, the characters, the writing, etc. while the show is airing. She can have lots of fun ragging on her own show. She can also comment on how she would have made the show better. "You see, if I were there, my husband wouldn't get away with that. And whoever's writing for his character is stupid." She will get an audience on Twitter far greater than the number of people watching The Connors.
2) Create her own videos, as the character Roseanne. She can be a ghost, commenting on the plot developments in The Connors. Or she could still be alive, and she can describe what's really going on. Maybe she faked her own death. Maybe she was kidnapped by a bunch of Iranian apes. Maybe she joined a New Age commune. Maybe she ran off with somebody. But it should screw with The Connors narrative every week.
3) She should stay Roseanne, or a similar character, and become a recurring guest star on Last Man Standing or some other show. Many of her fans are suggesting this.
Jeff said...
Who amongst us thinks Disney wants to be seen as racist?
Who would think Disney is racist if they allowed Roseanne to continue her role in her show?
Jeff: Better to lose a valuable property than be thought racist by a bunch of people who will never be satisfied of anything, ever.
Me: Good luck with your plan to have the crocodile eat you last.
http://www.vh1.com/news/310/racist-disney-movies/
Jeff said...
ABC is owned by Disney. Who amongst us thinks Disney wants to be seen as racist? Some of you have taken leave of your senses.
Jeff wishes to pretend Disney isn’t a driving force trying to destroy our republic.
Who would think Disney is racist if they allowed Roseanne to continue her role in her show?
Her fans might not think so, but Disney has to think about the audience for all of their shows, movies and properties. A boycott of all things Disney would have followed as day follows night. This isn't obvious?
"Jeff said...
So Jeff, you're saying she lied when she said she didn't know ValJar was black?
No, I'm saying it doesn't matter. She created a huge PR problem for Disney which could easily threaten half or more of their revenues. They had to get rid of her immediately or go bankrupt."
What did we learn today? That Jeff is an idiot.
If you go on Twitter and say something stupid that puts your employer in a bad light you get fired. For the life of me I don't see the problem.
Who would think Disney is racist if they allowed Roseanne to continue her role in her show?
One Very Important Person whom it is forbidden to insult, and to whom Disney bows down.
the show represented a weekly teaching moment for our nation.
If "represented" means "was", then: No.
And if you say the vile things ON TV (The VIEW), you keep your job.
What's funnier than a Deplorable dying from an opioid overdose? They're still rolling in the aisles from that line in the Upper West Side and in Santa Monica. The Conners are become more selective in their appeal.
It's rumored that Roseanne visited the ABC corporate HQ and was never seen again. There are videos of her entering the door. It's unlikely that she was mistaken for the California GOP chairwoman and cut up into little pieces and eaten by the NPC's and the anchors (but I repeat myself) on the news shows at ABC but stranger things have happened. Where in the world is Roseanne?
BUT, she returns to the show after AI surgery reanimates her. She now has the accepted outlook on American life save for a few lapses of the old Rosanne which causes her...her...her...to restart.
Jeff said...
A boycott of all things Disney would have followed as day follows night. This isn't obvious?
Yes, it is, although it is certainly debatable whether a significant number of people would be involved.
What does that have to do with Disney being thought of as racist?
"After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness."
Repentance and forgiveness are Christian values. No Christian values allowed in our new post-Christian world.
The opioid story is a cover up. Narciso knows the turth abiut it awl.
Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord.
Not anymore it doesn't. Yet another one of the glorious benefits brought to you by DIVERSITY.
The tweet "I'm alive, bitches" has been traced to an IP address associated with DB Cooper.
Sorry. Shmuley Boteach.
****************************
The delightfully named Shmuley Boteach.
Blogger Achilles said...
Jeff said...
ABC is owned by Disney. Who amongst us thinks Disney wants to be seen as racist? Some of you have taken leave of your senses.
Jeff wishes to pretend Disney isn’t a driving force trying to destroy our republic.
This is 100% feminized soap opera conspiracy ideation: Attack of the Giant Mouse.
"Help, I am a prisoner in the North Tower of the Bastille. Roseanne" A message picked up by a young boy in Paris. Subsequently, he was seen being hustled into a Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows. John Brennan not connected - 99.9 percent certainty.
So, that's what happened to the diverse apes and humans that populated Planet of the Apes. That said, evolution was always a dead end creation. No one wants to be compared to a monkey... ape.
Well if the gorillas hadn't started the war; Taylor wouldn't have had blow up the earth.
I went to buy a ticket for To Kill A Mockingbird over in Shorewood. A NPC mob was after me when a heavily bundled-up woman showed me an escape route down an alley. When I turned to thank her, she was gone and only an rose lay by my feet.
She created a huge PR problem for Disney which could easily threaten half or more of their revenues.
HALF of Disney's $revenue?? Last week we had the study that something like 80 of the population hates the PC crap pushed by the SJW. Because its a huge double standard and everyone knows it. Kananaugh? = evil. Bill Clinton= shut up, dont pry into peoples personal lives.
Jarret is a snow flake, Kayney West? House negro. Can't read, traitor to his race. All sorts of non-PC BS that is approved for public consumption.
Welcome to the "1984", a how-to book for todays leftists.
Roseanne would never have taken drugs. She was better than that. She accepted her lot in life and had made peace with it.
Awful decision by the producers and the actors should have refused to go along with it. After all, the reboot could not have happened unless Roseanne waived her rights to the show. Talk about ingrates!
Disney is in the process of buying Fox, as well. Why would this not be an anti-trust violation? He who controls the narrative controls the world [so much for 'the hand that rocks the cradle'].
If Trump has taught us anything, it's that an apology is the act of a masochist casting about for sadists. Rosanne had nothing to apologise for and sealed her fate when she did anyway.
Exactly so, Tim!
The opioids overdose is too gentle a death. I would have the beaten to death in a dispute over a parking spot at a Trump rally. The Trump supporters are crazed with meth and keep calling her "a nasty woman" as they kick her to death. Every subsequent episode should dramatize how evil Trump supporters truly are... ....They've lost that part of the audience that liked Trump so they may as well go with what's left. Hey, it worked for Kimmel and Colbert.
Roseanne is the only TV actress I can think of who could make an opiod OD or suicide sitcom funny for television.
No, actually, Roseanne didn’t compare Ms Jarrett to a character in Planet of the Apes. She posited that Ms Jarrett looks like a political organization (Muslim Brotherhood) had a baby with a movie (or movie franchise).
Of course, that made no sense, so when others drew a negative inference from the tweet there was no rational defense available— because the tweet made no sense. (And by the way, there are human characters in all of those movies).
Roseanne Lives!
Pass it on.
Blogger Jeff said...”They had to get rid of her immediately or go bankrupt.”
I doubt that, but it’s their money. Their choice.
Jeff said...
No, I'm saying it doesn't matter. She created a huge PR problem for Disney which could easily threaten half or more of their revenues. They had to get rid of her immediately or go bankrupt.
Seriously?
Her fans might not think so, but Disney has to think about the audience for all of their shows, movies and properties. A boycott of all things Disney would have followed as day follows night. This isn't obvious?
Then they should silence The Avengers.
Ruffalo and Evans open their mouths. Evans just made a comment about Kanye. Whedon opens his mouth.
Disney execs including most notably the ABC President were unhappy about the political content of the show, not its ratings. The ABC President had announced only a week or two before "the tweet" that this season would be less political and more about family, going over Roseanne's head on the creative direction. This was a decision made to protect to protect Disney/ABC interests, but not their bottom line.
Unlike the cowardly school administrators who canceled the kids' play for lack of courage, Disney in the person of the network president was looking for a reason to cancel the show. As is her way, Roseanne obliged.
She compared a black woman to a monkey.
No, she didn't. But now do Don Lemon re Kanye.
"easily threaten half or more of their revenues."
Doubtful. Boycotts rarely work because they require a large volume of people and endless vigilance on the part of the participants to have a lasting impact on revenues -- especially on a behemoth like Disney. I bet a great number of people consume Disney entertainment products without having a clue that they are from Disney.
Boycotts can work on smaller, more narrowly focused companies.
"Evans just made a comment about Kanye."
I saw Evans's Kayne tweet and thought it was pretty dumb. (This is what happens when a man doesn't read ... how does he know what Kanye does and does not read?)
Shmuley Boteach, Rabbi to the Stars, was once spiritual advisor to Michael Jackson.
Ah but like the Shorwood School District the network can reverse its decision to kill Roseanne off. I recall the episode in the TV show "Dallas" where Bobby took a shower and realized that the show's entire last season was "just a dream". That's the television version of Lazarus and Roseanne may rise from her opioid overdose next year.
Subplot to The Connors. A mysterious woman, who has lost her memory, comes into the town the Connors live in and enters the lives of the inhabitants. Why does she say "Rosebud" all the time? Why did she have plastic surgery - or is it make-up? Urged on by DisneyABCNBCCBS, the police try to prove by various methods - Lie to Me, CSI - that this woman is a the last of the Romanovs or DB Cooper after a sex change and so on.
The President of ABC is a black woman, educated in an American University. Of course she would prefer that all white people die of opioid overdoses, and she is not shy about pointing it out.
A stroke/coma induced by Sleep Apnea would have been better for keeping options open
Based on last night's overnights- the new show is doomed financially. By the last episode, I expect the ratings to be 30% of what it garnered last night. However, I expect the network will renew it anyway- it isn't about financials any longer.
And the commenters above are right- Barr made a mistake in prostrating herself the way she did. When the PC mob comes for you, you have to fight back- begging not to be lynched never works.
Drug addicts became medical once white trash started dropping like flies from oxy. Before when it was crack, it was criminal to get high while black
Sometimes she seems to know things that only Roseanne would know. The Connor family divides on who she is and what to do about the fact that she is living in a homeless shelter. She refuses to talk to them for very long. The women think she is too Pollyannaish - she has converted to Orthodox Judaism and makes biblical references. The husband knows a way to determine but his efforts to get her alone keep going wrong. In one episode a #MeToo mob comes after him as he runs after - the mysterious woman.
On the one hand, I applaud television handling the opioid crisis and not putting shame into it.
On the other hand, I think of course they want to make the Trump supporter the opioid user. They don't have one of the existing characters struggle with opioids. I think it says more about what they think about America -- that we aren't doing enough about the opioid crisis because the people dying are probably a bunch of alt-righters anyway.
"Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord. The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country."
The network decided, "Piss on all that. We like weak women who take orders from their political betters and tear apart families over political shit."
Remember who vouched for Purdue pharmaceuticals in 2007?
Answer eric holder future attorney general,
She forfeited her intellectual property rights, for heaven's sake. Couldn't she at least have been in rehab to explain her disappearance from the show?
Is "Shmuley" the Jewiest name you've ever heard, or what.
Agree that it seems out of character for the Roseanne character to be an opioid addict. She wasn't that kind of personality.
Disney also owns ESPN. If Disney is worried about going bankrupt, then they would simply sell ESPN now. They fired Roseanne not for fear of backlash of a boycott. They fired Roseanne because the Execs want to hang out with VJ and her pal Barack, and they don't want that time to be awkward. If people knew how to do statistics, they'd know the number of people even aware of Roseanne's tweet was far less than the number of people who tuned in to watch her show because she was in it, and thus will not watch it now.
I'll give another example, here is Science Man explaining how this played out with Ghostbusters 3. Bottom line, they tanked their own box office by making a big argument about less than 1% of the audience. Bonus, there is a horseface comment at the link.
ABC is owned by Disney. Who amongst us thinks Disney wants to be seen as racist? Some of you have taken leave of your senses. - Jeff
Disney also owns ESPN ... an entity who has on-air personalities spewing statements far, far worse than what Rosanne tweeted. But because they're the 'right' targets, people like you have no problem with them.
Is that about right?
If you go on Twitter and say something stupid that puts your employer in a bad light you get fired. For the life of me I don't see the problem. - Jeff
Of course you don't. Because your outrage is based upon who's making the statements.
Jeff said...
She compared a black woman to a monkey.
She said, "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj"
So, she didn't compare Jarrett to an ape, she said she was the offspring of a monkey-fucking terrorist. In that scenario, the ape seems to be the least of the problem, but that's what everyone got upset about.
Why doesn’t Lady Channing come out and say how she really fantasized about Roseanne dying: Being run over by a motorized wheelchair at a KKK rally.
PS: I’m glad the show will tank. Hope it tanks Lady Channing’s tenure too but not before an apology.
Walt Disney is spinning in his grave...
I don't think it really matters at this point. The show will be lucky to get past 13 episodes.
Blogger Jupiter said...
The President of ABC is a black woman, educated in an American University. Of course she would prefer that all white people die of opioid overdoses, and she is not shy about pointing it out.
So, you're saying of a woman you don't even know that her skin color is determining her thoughts, merely because she took action to protect her company? Self aware much?
Jeff said...”She compared a black woman to a monkey. Just imagine the trouble ABC would have had if they hadn't dumped her.”
I object. Most African American women don’t look like characters from “Planet Of The Apes.” But Jarrett does. The similarity is uncanny. For that reason, the insult would not have worked against Michelle Obama, for example. So it’s clear that you overgeneralized and overreacted, Jeff.
Karl Rove held a position very similar to Jarret. Where was Jeff when Rove was being trashed?
THOU SHALT NEVER MOCK ANY OBAMA OFFICIAL.
did anyone watch the new Connor show?
I can only imagine the leftwing preaching.
Whether the commenters here think Roseanne made a racist tweet or not is immaterial. What matters to Disney is the bottom line impact, and there is no doubt that Roseanne cost them a lot of money thru her thoughtlessness. For that, and to avoid losing even more money, they fired her.
Many of you are complaining that if her politics we're different she would have been treated differently. If that's true and it had happened that way, then I would expect to see the management that failed to fire her be fired. The company's bottom line is supposed to be the first concern of management.
"there is no doubt that Roseanne cost them a lot of money thru her thoughtlessness"
I'm doubting that. A lot.
Just when I think libtards could not possibly get any more stupid, Jeff comes along and proves me wrong. Bravo.
@chickenlittle, where did I say anything about Valerie Jarrett? I'm not defending her, I'm just saying that ABC was right to fire someone who very publicly made a tweet that was certain to be regarded as crudely racist by a large part of their customer base.
If the star of some other television show we're to publicly engage in Holocaust denial, I would also expect him or her to be summarily fired as well. There's some stuff that just crosses the line.
At least now Black folks are appeased and are done with all their grievances.
What cost ABC a lot of money was their knee jerk political correctness and zero tolerance for any support for Trump or normalization of Trump.
I don't care about Roseanne. I just want to say "Shmuley Boteach" is a really awesome name.
Black congresscritters demanded higher penalties for crack cocaine back when it was a new plague. They were accommodated. You can look it up.
I seem to remember when a crass Brit got fired for a "physical and verbal attack" on production staff.
So Amazon hired him and they now have a hit series, i.e. Grand Tour.
If Bezos et all are smart, they'd reboot Rosanne and make a bundle of money.
"Jeff said...
So Jeff, you're saying she lied when she said she didn't know ValJar was black?
Jeff: No, I'm saying it doesn't matter. She created a huge PR problem for Disney which could easily threaten half or more of their revenues. They had to get rid of her immediately or go bankrupt."
What did we learn today? That Jeff is an idiot.
Jeff: Her fans might not think so, but Disney has to think about the audience for all of their shows, movies and properties. A boycott of all things Disney would have followed as day follows night. This isn't obvious?
AND a coward.
Jeff said...”She compared a black woman to a monkey. Just imagine the trouble ABC would have had if they hadn't dumped her.”
A Chimpanzee !!
For God's sake Jeff. At least watch the movie and understand the dynamics of the movie and taxonomy. :-)
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