Jerry Seinfeld says Roseanne Barr should not have been fired for her racist tweets
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has never been one to shy away from expressing controversial opinions and thoughts, and his take on Roseanne Bar's situation and her departure from ABC's 'Roseanne' is now invoking curious glances.
Seinfeld was of the opinion that she should not have been fired from the show. "I didn't see why it was necessary to fire her," he said, talking to Entertainment Tonight. "Why would you murder someone who's committing suicide?" he quipped.
"But I never saw someone ruin their entire career with one button push. That was fresh," he added. While the initial impression may have been that Seinfeld was attempting to defend Barr's actions, it's clear that his stance is one that's born out of intrigue and fascination than anything else.
Best known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the hit '90s sitcom 'Seinfeld,' the 64-year-old also offered his thoughts on how the network could go about replacing Barr's significant presence, suggesting that it was time another female comedian got the opportunity to become the family's matriarch and carry the show.
"I think they should get another Roseanne," he said. "They brought Dan Conner back, he was dead and they brought him back. So, why can't we get another Roseanne? There are other funny women that could do that part. You need to get a comic in there. I hate to see a comic lose a job."
Barr was fired from the show last month after it emerged that she had made racist and anti-semitic remarks on Twitter. She had likened former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett to an 'ape', writing: "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj."
When it was pointed out to her that her tweet was offensive and racist, Barr doubled down, tweeting: "Muslims r NOT a race" and "ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people."
Barr faced immediately faced a backlash from all quarters. ABC released a statement where they called her tweet 'abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values,' and former co-star Sara Gilbert — who played her daughter Darlene Conner on the show and who the mooted reboot is said to revolve around — similarly tweeted: "Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."
ABC has confirmed that they have officially picked up the reboot show, with a working title 'The Conners.' The official statement from ABC read, '''The Conners' (working title), a spinoff of the groundbreaking family comedy 'Roseanne,' has been greenlit to series with an order of 10 episodes for fall 2018."
A premiere date is yet to be set but it has been confirmed that it will have a Tuesday run from 8:00 to 8:30 pm and that the beloved Conners, John Goodman (Dan), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Lecy Goranson (Becky) and Michael Fishman (D.J.) will all be reprising their roles.
The network has also confirmed that Barr will have no "financial or creative involvement" in this project.
