Good morning, Broadsheet readers! An ex-Snapper raises questions about the company’s culture, SCOTUS hands Planned Parenthood a setback, and Roseanne Barr steps over the line—and faces the consequences. Have an excellent Wednesday.
EVERYONE'S TALKING
• Roseanne Barr gets canceled. Unless you were ensconced in a media-proof burrow yesterday (in which case I envy you!), you've no doubt heard about Roseanne Barr's vile racist tweet—and the impressively quick response of ABC, the home (or should I say former home) of her sitcom, Roseanne. Indeed, it all moved so quickly that it was hard to stay on top of the story. Here's a recap:
First, Barr sent a racist tweet insulting Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama. (Our story quotes it, but I'm not going to repeat it here.) The Internet quickly exploded in rage, at which point Barr apologized. Soon after, Wanda Sykes, a consulting producer on the Roseanne show, tweeted she would not be returning.
Hours later, ABC President Channing Dungey announced that the network was canceling the reboot of Barr's (very highly rated) sitcom. “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” said Dungey, who is the first African-American woman to lead ABC. Barr was also dropped by ICM Partners, her talent agency.
In an MSNBC town hall called Everyday Racism in America, Jarrett responded to the tweet and the subsequent cancellation of the show. “First of all, I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment,” Jarrett said. “I’m fine. I’m worried about all the people out there who don’t have a circle of friends and followers coming to their defense.”
Later in the day came a report that the original nine seasons of Roseanne, which ran from 1988 to 1997, will no longer be shown on Viacom’s cable networks, including CMT, Paramount Network, and TV Land.
Is that the end of the Roseanne saga, or will we get more chapters today? (My money's on the latter.) Stay tuned...
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
• I can't read another one of these. The New York Times has the horrifying story of Jimmy Williams, a storied equestrian coach who, according to numerous riders who worked with him, serially raped and molested girls as young as 11. (He died in 1993.) The descriptions of Williams's behavior are repulsive, but perhaps the worst part is how often we've heard versions of this story—a coach or other powerful man in the athletic community who preys on the young women he's supposed to be teaching and empowering. From Larry Nassar to Olympic coaches in taekwondo and swimming to the everyday coaches of girls' high school sports, there is clearly a deep and serious problem with the way these men have been given carte blanche as long as they keep winning. Aren't girls worth more—so, so much more—than that? New York Times
• SCOTUS setback. The Supreme Court has delivered a setback to Planned Parenthood and abortion rights advocates by clearing the way for an Arkansas law that makes it effectively impossible to access medication-induced abortions. The decision will shutter two of the state’s three Planned Parenthood clinics in the short-term, though the organization says it plans to “swiftly” challenge the law again in federal court. Fortune
• An ex-Snapper snaps back. Last November, on her last day working at Snapchat, former software engineer Shannon Lubetich sent out a memo criticizing the company’s culture to her roughly 1,300 colleagues within the engineering department. The note, which Cheddar released publicly yesterday, included a list of traits that could be used to describe an engineer—including being compassionate, a woman, and a person of color. “It’s fine if this list doesn’t describe you,” wrote Lubetich. “But it’s not fine if you think, consciously or subconsciously, that these traits prevent you from being a good engineer.” Fortune
• Facebook's still figuring it out. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said yesterday that the social media giant still doesn't know "what data Cambridge Analytica had." Facebook was supposed to conduct an audit of Cambridge Analytica, but that stalled when the U.K. government launched its own investigation. Recode
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
• The wave won't wait. The NYT takes a look at how the wave of Democratic women now running for office for the first time are ignoring the usual rules of the political game. "They want to run and win on their own terms. Some are coming for their own party. And many are not waiting their turn, as past generations were mostly content to do." New York Times
• Freeman vs. CNN. Morgan Freeman's lawyers have sent a letter to CNN demanding an apology and a retraction over its story reporting that eight women have accused the actor of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. CNN, meanwhile, is standing by the report. Fortune
• McCray is MIA. While the Mayor’s Fund to Advance the City of New York was once flush with donations, contributions have stagnated under current chairwoman Chirlane McCray. The NYT reports that McCray, wife of NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, has not "even set foot in the fund’s office for nearly a year; her public schedules in 2017 recorded less than 20 hours spent on Mayor’s Fund business during the entire year." New York Times
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ON MY RADAR
Megyn Kelly frets that the homeless could take over Starbucks The Daily Beast
Melinda Gates: What graduates need to hear at commencement this year Time
Scott Pruitt tried to give men “property rights” over fetuses Mother Jones
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| Serena Williams, on her victorious, catsuit-ed return at the French Open. |