'Roseanne' cancellation saddens, doesn't surprise, members of Chicago comedy world
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The abrupt cancellation of "Roseanne" after an incendiary tweet by star Roseanne Barr has saddened some in Chicago's comedy scene, but they're not surprised.
Bert Haas, manager of Zanies in Chicago, was one of them.
"I don't think anyone should be surprised by anything Roseanne does anymore," he said.
Barr has been a headliner at some of Zanies' suburban locations.
Like many in the comedy world, Haas marveled at Barr's comeback. But he had other people on his mind after news of the cancelation broke.
"The sad thing, of course, is all the other people working behind the scenes that were looking forward to another season of the show," he said.
Even for a comic who's made a career on the razor's edge, the tweet from Barr was incendiary. Barr referred to Valerie Jarrett as the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and the movie "Planet of the Apes."
The backlash was immediate and fierce.
The Reverend Al Sharpton called the tweet inexcusable, and called on ABC to take action. Consulting producer Wanda Sykes tweeted she wouldn't return to the show, and Sara Gilbert, who portrays Darlene, condemned the tweet.
Barr later apologized and deleted the tweet, saying it was a bad joke about Jarrett's politics and looks, and said she was leaving Twitter.
But amid the mounting backlash, ABC canceled the show. Channing Dungey, head of entertainment for ABC, said the tweet was "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."
Jarrett commented on it while appearing in Philadelphia at a town hall on race.
"Well, first of all, I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment," she said. "Bob Iger, who's the CEO of Disney, called me before the announcement. He apologized. He said that he had zero tolerance for that sort of racist, bigoted comment, and he wanted me to know before he made it public that he was canceling the show."
Barr tweeted Tuesday night, saying not to feel sorry for her.
