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Robert Iger, the chairman and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Company — the entertainment mega-conglomerate that owns the ABC television network — has publicly backed a decision made by the network’s entertainment president to cancel the successful Roseanne sitcom after the show’s star, Roseanne Barr, posted a racist message to her Twitter account comparing former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett, who is African-American, to an ape.
Iger’s public backing is significant because the decision to cancel Roseanne, a show described by one industry expert as “immensely profitable,” was made by Channing Dungey, 49, who in 2016 became the first African-American woman to head the entertainment operation at a major TV network.
“I’m not too certain an immensely profitable show like Roseanne would have been cancelled today if a woman like Channing didn’t have a seat at the table,” entertainment reporter Chris Witherspoon wrote on his Twitter account.
Iger called Dungey’s decision “the right thing.”