Wanda Sykes has quit as consulting producer of Roseanne, and with good reason. The actress took to Twitter on Tuesday (May 29) to announce her departure after Roseanne Barr tweeted a slew of racist comments about Valerie Jarrett.
The show’s star, who has a long history of Trump-supporting and racially charged statements, called Jarrett an ape in response to a user accusing the former senior advisor of covering up illegal acts for the Obama administration.
“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
After a fury of backlash and calls for the cancellation of her show, Barr claimed the bigoted remarks aimed at the Iranian-born African-American were just a “joke.”
“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” she tweeted. “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.”
Though Barr has issued her apology and threatened to leave Twitter, Sykes will not return to the show. She also cleared up that she is not a head writer as some outlets previously reported.
ABC has not yet released a statement about Sykes’ exit, Barr’s remarks or the future of the show.
