News

Roseanne Barr Is Back On Twitter & What She's Retweeting Might Just Baffle You

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

ABC cancelled its revival Roseanne show on Tuesday after its star wrote a racist tweet about a former Obama presidential advisor. Roseanne Barr apologized to Valerie Jarret via Twitter on Tuesday evening, expressing remorse for her actions. However, Barr's retweets seem to imply there's a double standard at play when it comes to enduring consequences for her actions. To say the least, Barr's inconsistent tweets have called into question where exactly she stands regarding her show being canceled.

Barr first apologized for her initial tweet in a message she wrote to Jarret on Twitter. In her apology tweet, Barr stated,

I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. 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.

Barr followed up this tweet with another apology to the people who lost their jobs on her show as a result of its cancellation. Moreover, she repeatedly asked other Twitter users not to defend her and not to boycott ABC.

However, despite asking people not to defend her, Barr's retweets represent a different perspective. The television star retweeted several posts implying there's a glaring difference in regards to how she was treated versus how those who have liberal political views have been treated. She also retweeted users who questioned why criticizing Trump is acceptable but making racist remarks about Jarret is not.

Bizarrely, Barr herself pointed out this inconsistency, also retweeting a Twitter user who questioned why she was retweeting messages that appeared to be inconsistent with her apology. Moreover, when another user, @JustAnotherFed_, wrote "I love how Roseanne keeps tweeting how she’s so sorry but then keeps retweeting whataboutisms in her defense," and asked her to "... give it a break ..." Barr simply responded, "Nope."

Barr has repeatedly tweeted and retweeted throughout Tuesday evening. At one point Barr seemed to somewhat address the inconsistencies in her Twitter behavior, writing:

I'm sorry 4 my tweet, AND I will also defend myself as well as talk to my followers. so, go away if u don't like it. I will handle my sadness the way I want to. I'm tired of being attacked & belittled more than other comedians who have said worse.

Barr's rapid-fire tweeting has perhaps come as a surprise to some, particularly after she announced earlier on Tuesday that she was "leaving Twitter." Indeed, several Twitter users commented on this inconsistency. One user, @JRehling, wrote:

In the 12 hours since Roseanne said that she's leaving Twitter, she's tweeted or retweeted 25 times, including a debunked hoax claiming that, in her college yearbook, Valerie Jarrett announced her life goal of making America more Muslim. So that's one way to apologize.

Another Twitter user, @JenAshleyWright, commented, "Roseanne seems remarkably bad at leaving Twitter."

ABC announced its decision to cancel Barr's show several hours after she published the racist tweet about Jarrett. As CNN reported, Channing Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment, asserted, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show." The New York Times also reported that the network immediately removed reruns of the revived Roseanne show from its lineup and has begun removing episodes from Hulu, an online streaming service.

Overall, Barr's tweets and retweets seem to deliver an inconsistent message about the nature of her apology to Jarrett and about how she feels regarding the consequences of her actions. Indeed, her words have left many to question where she truly stands on the issue. Moreover, many are now probably wondering whether or not Barr will continue to offer commentary on Twitter or pull away from the platform, as she initially suggested.