Entertainment

Hollywood backs ABC over 'Roseanne' cancellation

On Tuesday, Roseanne Barr had plenty to say on Twitter and Twitter had plenty to say back.

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Lisa Respers France (CNN)
(CNN) — On Tuesday, Roseanne Barr had plenty to say on Twitter and Twitter had plenty to say back.

ABC canceled the "Roseanne" reboot hours after the star's racist tweets. (Prior to the cancellation announcement, Barr apologized and announced she would be leaving Twitter.)

News of the show being canceled had many hailing the network, in particular Channing Dungey, who became the first African-American president of ABC Entertainment Group in 2016.

"For the record, this is Channing Dungey," director Ava DuVernay tweeted along with a photo of Dungey. "Sitting on top of your world like a Queen in full judgment of your garbage and taking it out. #Roseanne."

Barr's ex-husband, actor Tom Arnold, offered praise for Robert Iger, chief executive officer of ABC's parent company, Disney.

"Ton of respect for Bob Iger," Arnold tweeted. "Tough decision with financial consequences for his company but right for America....umm..now don't bug Bob but maybe someone else find out if I'm still banned from all of @ABCNetwork for calling Roseanne Barr out first on her racist conspiracy tweets?"

Barr and Arnold divorced in 1994 after four years of marriage, and he was a writer on the original "Roseanne."

"Silicon Valley" star Kumail Nanjiani anticipated that the show being dropped would not go over well with some.

"I'm glad Roseanne is canceled," Nanjiani tweeted. "The backlash to its cancellation is going to be a deafening nightmare. Nothing good has come of this entire thing."

Several celebs spoke out against Barr's tweets earlier in the day.

"I love Roseanne quite a bit. The comment Roseanne tweeted was racist and childish and beneath her best self," wrote Barr's friend Rosie O'Donnell in a tweet.

After news of the cancellation broke, actress Minnie Driver tweeted both praise and a promo.

"So proud of @ABCNetwork for having the ethical compunction to cancel #Rosanne despite the show's huge numbers," Driver wrote. "We too make a show about a middle class family, come and watch us instead #speechless @Speechless_ABC."

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