The whole country is talking about ABC axing "Roseanne." In case you didn't know, the Disney-backed network cancelled the most watched sitcom on television, after its star Roseanne Barr compared African American Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape. In the since-deleted tweet, Barr said of Jarrett: "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."
ABC Entertainment President, Channing Dungey, quickly released a letter to the media saying "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show." That was that.
Of course, the backlash that followed from the right was no doubt predictable. After all, their side is being constantly mocked by the left-wing cultural media. No president in the history of the United States of America has endured the kind of mockery Donald Trump has taken since taking office.
The right want blood for what happened to "Roseanne." An eye for an eye. They have set their sights on TV host Samantha Bee, who, a few hours after Roseanne was cancelled, called Ivanka Trump a "feckless cunt" on her show. The remark has had advertisers leaving left and right ever since. The backlash is there. Why? Because Bee has become a prominent voice for the left, very much akin to the same "heroic" levels of "news" people like Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, and John Oliver. Plus, she's a woman and her fervent female following is what seems to be dictating the insult of Ivanka Trump as "unacceptable."
Do I find Bee's comment repugnant? Sure. Have I heard worse in these last two years of Democratic vs Conservative twitter bloodbaths? Hell, yeah. However, Barr's comment, comparing a black person to an ape is a little more extreme methinks. It shouldn't even be considered a "bad joke," as some of her supporters are claiming. There was no joke or punchline in what Barr said, just execution and blatant name-calling. Kind of like what Bee did, actually.
We know why Roseanne's "joke" was bad, but Bee calling an important, integral woman in the White House a "feckless cunt" is something you just shouldn't do. For the sake of female strength and prosperity in this country, do not use a derogatory and sexist term to make a point. Be the intellectual you claim to be, lay down your reasoning behind why Ivanka is a bad person, rather than punctuate it with an all-too-easy insult.
It's been 36 hours since the Samantha Bee controversy, 48 hours since Barr's. Yes, what Roseanne Barr said was far worse. However, did it merit her show to be cancelled, an unprecedented feat as it was TV's most watched sitcom this year. Both Bee and Barr have apologized for their comments, but is that enough? The argument from the right says that if Roseanne's show was cancelled, shouldn't Bee's be as well? However, it's obvious that Roseanne calling a black person a monkey is going a little further down the wrong path in terms of acceptable behavior. You just can't do that. Don't get me wrong, Bee's slurring at Ivanka isn't acceptable either.
Compared to today's media where you HAVE to take a side in the Samantha Bee/Roseanne Barr debate, maybe we just shouldn't here. Why aren't there people blaming both of these popular celebs for their disgusting statements? I feel like I'm in the minority here, which I shouldn't be. What happened to decency and treating each other kindly. Bee and Barr crossed that line. But the political and cultural climate these days seems to be driven by the biblical 'eye for an eye" theory. No, there is no more "they aim low, we aim high" for the Democrats. Why? Because Republicans have long abandoned that ideology in the era of Trump. This is war.