Executives at ABC now believe that their decision to fire Roseanne Barr from their revival of Roseanne was a mistake and the network’s spin-off series The Conners may flop, according to a report from Mail Online.
Two senior executives at the network told the outlet that ABC President Channing Dungey’s decision to immediately fire the actress and cancel her show after she made racially charged comments about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett was a “knee-jerk” decision that they would later regret.
“We didn’t think it through properly. What Roseanne did was wrong but we shouldn’t have rushed to fire her. It was almost a knee-jerk reaction by Ben [Sherwood] and Channing [Dungey] who should have launched an investigation,” one insider reportedly said. “This would have given them more time to listen to the public, advertisers and cast members to determine the best decision.”
Barr compared Jarrett to if the ‘Muslim brotherhood & Planet of the Apes had a baby,” comments that were condemned by Dungey as “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” Yet one insider apparently suggested that ABC should instead have temporarily suspended her before making a final decision.