Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain acknowledged Tuesday that a tweet sent by Roseanne Barr was racist, but claimed ABC used it as an “excuse” to cancel her show.
“Roseanne apologized fervently. They cancelled her anyway,” Cain said on Fox Business.
“I believe … they were looking for a reason to cancel ‘Roseanne,’ ” Cain continued. “Even though the show was a ratings success, I believe that forces within ABC didn’t like the fact that her conservative defense of certain things was so popular in getting such ratings.”
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“I understand them using this as an excuse,” Cain added. “Yes, it was racist, yes, it was distasteful, and she vehemently apologized.”
ABC axed their highest-rated show on Tuesday after Barr caught massive backlash online for a tweet calling former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett the offspring of the Islamist organization the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.”
Barr apologized for the tweet, but within hours ABC canceled her show, calling her remarks “abhorrent” and “repugnant.”
Barr, a vocal supporter of President Trump, starred in the successful reboot of her eponymous show that touched on political topics from a right-leaning point of view.
But her online remarks, including some that embraced conspiracy theories, have long drawn rebuke from her fellow cast members and other critics.