BeforeWanda Sykesannouncedshe would no longer be a part of ABC’s hitRoseannerevival followingRoseanne Barr‘s racist tweet, the two comedians were thrilled to be working with one another.
Ahead of the show’s premiere in March, Barr shared her excitement about collaborating with talented writers like Sykes.
“The first day in the writers room, which came three months before the first day on set, that was an amazing day for me because I had all the writers I wanted and that had already worked with on the old show,” Barr, 65, told PEOPLE before the premiere. “I have Bruce Helford, Tom Warner, Whitney Cummings and Wanda Sykes and Norm McDonald. The first day in the writers room – I thought I was in heaven. Every idea I had all this time, I had pitched to them and they picked them right up. It was kind of like a machine – it worked so well. The first day on the set, I hadn’t seen John or Lori for a long time and there we were and it was really exciting. To watch them rebuild the set – it’s just perfect. It still felt new, but very familiar.”
In an interview withMetro Bostonin April, Sykes, who previously told the hosts ofThe Talkthat she was “honored to be a part of the show,” defended the reboot’s political leanings.
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“I was in the room for like two days a week, helping punch up stories and jokes,” Sykes, 54, said. “I was really happy with the way things turned out with the scripts. I’m aRoseannefan. I’m a fan of the show. It saddens me, but it also cracks me up. Extreme anything is nuts. Extreme left is just as nuts as the extreme right. The only way that we’re going to patch things up in this country is the people in the middle got to start talking to each other instead of just battling it out on Twitter.”
She added, “Roseannespeaks to so many people. They just want to be entertained. It kills me when people say it’s a pro-Trump show. Absolutely not. These people are struggling. They’re sharing medication. Trump’s America, they’re still broke as hell. Trump takes credit for everything and we can’t control that.”
And she called Barr “just an old lady who shouldn’t be on Twitter.”
“She believes everything she reads because, when you’re from that generation, you read stuff, you’re like, ‘Well, what do you mean it’s not true? I’m reading it!'” she explained.
The comedian then wrote: “ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.”
Sykes quit the show via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, tweeting, “I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.”
After several more hours of retweeting false conspiracy theories, Barr tweeted an apology:
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” Barr wrote. “I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me – my joke was in bad taste.”
Shortly after Sykes’ announcement, ABC decided to cancel the show, which was the no. 1 scripted series of the season with a 6.4 rating in the key demo, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
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“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” president of ABC Entertainment Channing Dungey announced in a statement
Sara Gilbertpublicly denounced her costar, and several other celebrities called on the ABC to cancel the show.
“This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love — one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member,” she added.
On Tuesday, Barr apologized and announced she was “leaving Twitter.”
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” she wrote. “I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me — my joke was in bad taste.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations applauded ABC’s decision.
source: people.com
