It was late May 2018. Memorial Day, to be exact. Most of the country was winding down from a holiday weekend, but for Roseanne Barr, the night was just getting started on Twitter. By the next morning, the sitcom icon—who had just pulled off one of the biggest television comebacks in history—would see her career vanish in a few dozen characters.
Honestly, the speed of it was what shocked everyone. One minute she was the queen of ABC ratings, and the next, she was a liability that Disney CEO Bob Iger felt he had to cut loose immediately. But what exactly did she say?
What Did Roseanne Say About Valerie Jarrett?
The tweet that sparked the firestorm was aimed at Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama. Barr was responding to a thread that was already diving deep into conspiracy theories about the Obama administration. She chimed in with a post that read:
"muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj"
The "vj" stood for Valerie Jarrett. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't nuanced. It was a direct comparison of a Black woman to an ape, a trope that carries centuries of painful, racist history in America.
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People didn't just find it offensive; they found it "abhorrent," a word used by ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey when she officially pulled the plug on Roseanne less than 24 hours later. It didn't matter that the show was a massive hit. It didn't matter that it had already been renewed for another season. The network was done.
The Excuses and the "Ambien Tweeting" Defense
After the tweet went viral and the backlash became an avalanche, Barr didn't initially go silent. She apologized, sure, but she also started providing reasons for why it happened. One of the most famous—and widely mocked—excuses was the sleep aid Ambien.
She tweeted that it was 2 a.m. and she was "ambien tweeting." She said she went "2 far" and shouldn't be defended, but the mention of the drug prompted a legendary clapback from Sanofi, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ambien. Their official response? "Racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication."
Beyond the medication defense, Barr eventually claimed that she didn't actually know Valerie Jarrett was Black. She insisted she thought Jarrett was white or of Iranian descent (Jarrett was born in Shiraz, Iran, to American parents). In a later, more erratic video, Barr famously screamed into the camera, "I thought the bitch was white!"
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Basically, her defense was that it was a political joke about Middle Eastern policy, not a racial one. But for the public and the network, the "Planet of the Apes" comparison was too specific and too historically charged to be anything other than what it looked like.
The Fallout: The Conners and the End of an Era
The consequences were swift and final.
- The Show: ABC canceled the Roseanne reboot immediately.
- The Spinoff: The network eventually rebranded the show as The Conners, killing off Roseanne's character via an opioid overdose and moving forward with the rest of the cast.
- The Agency: ICM Partners, her talent agency, dropped her as a client within hours.
- The Cast: Her co-stars, including Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman, publicly distanced themselves from her comments.
Valerie Jarrett herself took a remarkably calm approach to the whole thing. During an MSNBC town hall on "Everyday Racism in America," she said she was "fine" but was more concerned about people who don't have a platform or a "circle of friends and followers" to come to their defense when they face similar treatment. She wanted to turn it into a "teaching moment."
Why the Controversy Still Matters Today
Looking back, the Valerie Jarrett incident wasn't just about one tweet. It was a flashpoint in the "cancel culture" debate. To some, it was a necessary boundary: a major network saying that no matter how high your ratings are, there are lines you cannot cross. To others, it felt like a double standard in Hollywood.
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Regardless of where you land, the facts remain. One 53-character tweet cost a woman a multi-million dollar career and changed the trajectory of a television legacy. It proved that in the digital age, the distance between the top of the mountain and the bottom of the canyon is exactly one click of the "Post" button.
Key Takeaways for Navigating Social Media in 2026
If you're looking for a lesson in all of this, it's pretty simple:
- Context is King: Historical tropes carry weight. Using language that mimics old racist caricatures will always trigger a massive reaction, regardless of your intent.
- The 2 AM Rule: If you're on medication, tired, or angry, put the phone down. There is no such thing as a "private" thought once it's on a public platform.
- Brands Value Values: Companies like Disney/ABC are looking at more than just numbers; they are looking at brand safety. If a star becomes "toxic" to the brand, the ratings won't save them.
To get a full picture of the fallout, you can look into the first season of The Conners to see how the writers handled the transition, or watch Jarrett's full MSNBC interview for her perspective on "everyday racism."