Black-ish creator Kenya Barris believes it was only a matter of time before Roseanne Barr went off the rails, and he says ABC should have seen it coming.
Barris shared his thoughts on the situation Wednesday during Variety’s Path to Parity summit.
When Barr posted her racist tweet last month comparing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and the movie Planet of the Apes, Barris said he was so angry he almost did something drastic.
“I was literally coming out of the show and I was like f— this,” he said. “I was going to go crazy. I was going to call my agent and go on (CNN’s) Don Lemon and other shows.”
Read More: ABC Considering Revamped ‘Roseanne’ Without Roseanne Barr
Before going public, he said he called ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey, Disney-ABC Television Group chief Ben Sherwood, and ABC Studios president Patrick Moran to let them know he was furious and planned to speak out.
Dungey asked Barris to hold off because the network was in the process of pulling the plug on Barr’s self-titled sitcom, Roseanne.
“I was like, ‘I’m sorry guys’ and then I have to say, the response came in minutes.”
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Barris said he was surprised the network took action so quickly.
“It was amazing. Having Channing at the head and having Bob (Iger) be supportive,” Barris said.
Still, the producer, who reportedly clashed with ABC brass over a Black-ish episode about NFL players protesting during the national anthem, questioned the network’s decision to put Barr on the air in the first place.
“You hired a monster and then you asked why the monster was killing villagers,” Barris said about the comedian, who has a history of making inflammatory statements on social media.
ABC canceled Roseanne on May 29.
Barr apologized to Jarrett in a post on Twitter and announced she would be leaving the platform.
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” Barr tweeted Tuesday morning. “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.”
But the damage was already done. A short time after the apology, Roseanne consulting producer Wanda Sykes tweeted she would not not return to the show. Meanwhile, ABC president Channing Dungey condemned Barr’s comments.
The network is currently in talks with the show’s producers about creating a possible spinoff.
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