Will ABC punish Roseanne over racist tweet?

ABC faced a lot of controversy when they brought back Roseanne in the first place after series star Roseanne Barr had a history of posting offensive, inflammatory messages on Twitter. Yet, they didn’t listen or cave to criticism — especially after the comedy revival ended up being an enormous hit in the ratings. They stood by both her and the idea that the show was not meant to be overtly political, saying that in the end the premiere episode was meant to carry with it a message of inclusivity across the political spectrum.

Well, the you-know-what is now hitting the fan much in the way many predicted it eventually would after Roseanne referred to former President Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett with a racist slur in a since-deleted message from Twitter. She later apologized, claimed that she would leave the social-media service, and said that it was a joke made in “bad taste.” She did not address the racial element of her comment.

This is likely not going to be an issue that ABC can avoid. How do you, as a network, have shows like black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat, that celebrate diversity, while also employing a TV star who makes such offensive comments? We understand the complications with such an issue, given the fact that Roseanne employs hundreds of people and if you punish Barr on some level for what she said, you in turn punish many who didn’t have anything to do with it. Yet, this also cannot be a shield used to hide from accountability, either. The first statement ABC makes on this subject is likely going to be the one that matters the most — social media has been around long enough that they have to know if they make some sort of halfhearted statement “condemning” her, that won’t make the problem going away.

What do you think ABC should do in response to this latest Roseanne issue, and do you think this impacts the show airing this fall? Share in the comments.

Meanwhile, be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook for some additional insight right now regarding the ABC series. (Photo: ABC.)