Roseanne Barr, star of the rebooted ABC sitcom Roseanne, apologized to former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett for a racist and since deleted tweet that alleged a connection to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Barr, a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump wrote in a tweet, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.” The initials “vj” are a reference to Jarrett’s initials. Barr’s tweet was a reply to a tweet that accused Jarrett of helping to cover up alleged misdeeds by the Obama administration.
Users commented that the tweet seemed racist. “Muslims r NOT a race,” Barr replied. Barr did delete the tweet. In a subsequent tweet, Barr said it was a joke.
The comedian and TV star pivoted again and did apologize.
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001471669641216005
About five minutes later, Barr posted another tweet announcing she was leaving Twitter.
https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/1001470384556752898
What “leaving Twitter” means is unclear. Barr’s Twitter account was still active as of noon ET on Tuesday.
The apology and deleted tweet weren’t enough to stem the damage. A few hours after Barr’s tweet, Wanda Sykes, a consulting producer on the Roseanne show, tweeted she will not be returning.
I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) May 29, 2018
