‘The Conners’: Petitions Pop up to Boycott ‘Roseanne’ Spinoff

A few petitions have begun to pop up online in an attempt to boycott ABC’s upcoming Roseanne spinoff series, The Conners.

Over on Change.org, two petitions have sprouted to “Boycott ABC and The Conner Spinoff.” These two petitions were both started on Friday and feature virtually identical reasoning for the boycott. The organizer strikes Roseanne Barr’s infamous racist tweet up to be a joke, claims her firing was due to her support for Donald Trump and thinks Barr has been treated more harshly than other celebrities marred by controversy.

“Stop ABC from having the spinoff The Conners. Since Roseanne Barr started the show it is not fair ABC fired her over a tweet which was not meant to be racist but a joke,” the description reads. “It is wrong for a person or business to fire someone because of who they voted for. This is discrimination and should be against the law and immoral.”

They continue, “Other actors or actresses such as Bill Cosby, Kathy Griffith (sic) and Peter Fonda along with others are still employed and have had not disciplinary actions taken toward them. Their shows/movies are still on television. Because they are anti Trump this is not fair and is a double standard. Roseanne Barr should not be blacklisted over a tweet and the new show The Conners should not be aired.”

While the numbers for the movements are very small, with only 100 signatures between them both, Barr supporters are vocal in the comment sections.

“I think it’s totally unfair that Roseanne lost her show/job [and] career over one tweet, which wasn’t bad as people made it, meanwhile over celebrities, talk show hosts [and] comedians have said worse [and] all the had to do was apologize & they got away with it,” user Tracey Peine wrote. “I have banned ABC from my household [and] will never watch any spinoff without Roseanne on it.”

User Robin Kaufffmann added, “(ABC was) wrong to fire and cancel her on every network. I’ve seen far more racist things said on TV than what ROSANNE said. She apologized right away. I STAND BEHIND ROSANNE! TREAT HER FAIRLY!”

Despite these fans wishes, ABC is going forward with The Conners with a premiere expected some time in the fall. Barr will not be included in the project, as she settled with producers to ensure her castmate and the Roseanne crew could keep their jobs.

“I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne,” Barr said in a statement. “I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved.”

No premiere date has been announced for The Conners as of press time.