Tom Arnold Praises ‘Tough’ but ‘Right’ Decision to Cancel ‘Roseanne’

Roseanne Barr’s ex-husband, Tom Arnold, praised ABC Television executives for cancelling her sitcom reboot over a racist tweet on Tuesday.

Arnold was married to Barr from 1990 to 1994. The former couple has exchanged harsh words on Twitter recently due to Barr’s continued support for President Donald Trump and Arnold’s staunch opposition to him. After Roseanne was cancelled on Tuesday morning, Arnold took to Twitter to applaud the network.

“Ton of respect for Bob Iger,” he wrote of Disney’s CEO. “ABC’s 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 has parroted numerous conspiracy theories on Twitter over the years, most of which have been debunked. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Barr responded to another Twitter user espousing a conspiracy theory that Valerie Jarrett had helped cover up alleged crimes for the Obama administration.

“Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” Barr wrote, using Jarrett’s initials. Ultimately, the tweet led to the end of show. Later on in the morning, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey announced that the Roseanne reboot was officially cancelled.

“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” read Dungey’s brief statement.

After the announcement, Arnold invited Barr to join him on his upcoming new show The Hunt For The Trump Tapes. The Viceland series promises to investigate the president’s various misdeeds on record, including the Access Hollywood tape that hurt his campaign close to the election.

“Roseanne has an open invitation to join me on #TheHuntForTheTrumpTapes,” Aronld wrote. “I warned her about that Trump guy. @MarkBurnettTV You are next!”

Valerie Jarrett, who was at the center of the controversy, worked in the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017. She was the Director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. She was born to American parents in Shiraz, Iran, where her father ran a children’s hospital. She and her family moved back to the United States when she was seven years old.

Other people associated with the embattled sitcom revival seemed to view Barr’s tweet as the last straw even before ABC cancelled it. Sara Gilbert condemned the statement on Twitter, and Wanda Sykes vowed to quit as an executive producer.

Emma Kenney, the young actress who played Harris, also called Barr out for the tweet. In a now-deleted post of her own, Kenney referred to Barr as a bully.

“As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I found out the show got cancelled,” Kenney tweeted. “I feel so empowered by [Wanda Sykes], Channing Dungey and those at ABC standing up against abuse of power and lack of values. Bullies do not win. Ever.”