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Barr sparked widespread anger with a tweet on Tuesday comparing
black former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett to an
ape. Barr wrote in a now-deleted message that if the Islamist
political movement "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had
a baby = vj."
The tweet led the ABC network, owned by Walt Disney Co, to
cancel its hit revival of her "Roseanne" sitcom. Trump has cited
the program's popularity as evidence that his supporters, who
include Barr, want shows that speak to their concerns.
Jarrett said on Tuesday that Disney CEO Bob Iger called her
before ABC announced the show's cancellation.
"Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for
the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I
just didn't get the call?" Trump said on Twitter. Trump has been
a persistent critic of the news media throughout his election
campaign and presidency.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders elaborated on Trump's
comments at a media briefing.
"The president is simply calling out the media bias. No one is
defending what she said," Sanders said.
She brought up several examples of what she called a media slant
against Trump. These included comments made by ABC's "The View"
host Joy Behar about Vice President Mike Pence's Christian
faith, comedian Kathy Griffin's comments about Trump on the same
television program and ESPN's recent hiring of television
personality Keith Olbermann, who called Trump a white
supremacist. ESPN is majority owned by Disney.
Iger last year quit a Trump advisory council because of the
president's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.
Iger told Vogue magazine last month that he had considered
running for president but decided against it to focus on
business.
ABC and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
ROSEANNE BLAMES AMBIEN
Barr blamed her late-night message on the sleep aid Ambien.
"It was 2 in the morning and I was Ambien tweeting-it was
memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was
egregious Indefensible," she wrote in a message that has since
been deleted. "I made a mistake I wish I hadn't but...don't
defend it please."
Ambien's maker, Sanofi, responded.
"While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism
is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication," its U.S.
arm said on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Barr had apologized "for making a bad joke" about
Jarrett.
"Don't feel sorry for me, guys!!," Barr said in a tweet on
Tuesday. "I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people,
and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost
their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet."
But on Wednesday she was in a feisty mood, saying on Twitter she
did not know Jarrett was black.
In another tweet, Barr suggested she was being unfairly treated:
"One stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting 4 civil rights 4 all
minorities..."
She also responded to supportive comments on her Twitter feed,
saying, "you guys make me feel like fighting back. I will
examine all of my options carefully and get back to U."
The original "Roseanne" ran from 1988 to 1997, featuring a
blue-collar family, the Conners, with overweight parents
struggling to get by. It was praised for its realistic portrayal
of working-class life.
The current "Roseanne" was ABC's biggest hit of the 2017-2018
season, drawing an average 18.7 million viewers, second only to
CBS's "The Big Bang Theory," according to Nielsen data through
May 20.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Eric Kelsey; additional
reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Brendan O'Brien in
Milwaukee; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Cynthia Osterman)
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