Sara Gilbert doesn’t have any animosity toward ABC after the network canceled the reboot of her sitcom Roseanne in the wake of star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet.
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“I would like to say that this has been a very difficult week,” the 43-year-old actress (who played Darlene Conner) said on The Talk on Monday, June 4. “A lot of people have been hurt by this. I will say I am proud of the show we made. The show has always been about love, diversity and inclusion, and it’s sad to see it end in this way. I am sad for the people who lost their jobs in the process. However, I do stand behind the decision that ABC made.”
Sara Gilbert
Gilbert’s Talk cohost Sheryl Underwood chimed in, “I’m really glad to hear you say that because as a black woman who is a comedian, I’m very, very proud of Channing Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment. And as Spike Lee says, a lot of people came together to do the right thing and I’m happy to see that it was done swiftly.”
Related: Roseanne Barr’s Most Controversial Moments
Julie Chen agreed, adding, “Canceling the show so quickly sent a strong message and the right message, that’s for sure.”
ABC canceled Roseanne on Tuesday, May 29, just a few hours after Barr, 65, called former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett the child of “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes” in a since-deleted tweet. Dungey called the remark “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” Barr later claimed that she had been “ambien tweeting.”
Prior to the cancellation, Gilbert tweeted that she was “disappointed” in her TV mom’s comment and that it did “not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show.”
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Multiple websites, including TVLine and TMZ, have since reported that ABC is in very early talks to do a spinoff focusing on Gilbert’s character. Such a show would save the 200-plus jobs that were lost by canceling the reboot, which premiered in March to rave reviews.
The Talk airs on CBS weekdays at 2 p.m. ET.
