Comedian Roseanne Barr unintentionally triggered an avalanche of leftist outrage and tears this week after she told an otherwise benign joke about Asian-and black-focused TV shows.
She told the joke during the third episode of her sitcom “Roseanne,” which returned to TV last week after a 21-year hiatus — and to critical acclaim.
During one scene in the episode, the characters of Roseanne Conner (played by Barr) and Dan Conner (played by John Goodman) woke up from a couch nap, only to realize they’d missed several TV shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“We missed all the shows about black and Asian families,” Dan specifically said, reportedly referencing the ABC comedies “Black-ish” and “Fresh Off the Boat.”
In response, Roseanne remarked, “They’re just like us. There, now you’re all caught up.”
That joke, which was rooted in the accurate belief that all people are ultimately the same despite their racial differences, sent Hollywood actor and writer Kelvin Yu into a full-fledged hissy fit:
But the real kicker is when Roseanne says: "They're just like us. There, now you're all caught up." Which implies that the point of any show about a minority family is simply to normalize them. That's it. The stories, the humor, the characters… not important. 2/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Do I think the characters Roseanne and Dan watch Blackish or Fresh Off The Boat? Of course not. Do I think they'd say something PC about them? Probably not. But the point is, they didn't HAVE to say ANYTHING. They didn't have to write that joke at all. It's not even a joke. 4/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Keep in mind, ABC was all too willing to bar Kenya Barris from airing an episode about kneeling during the nat'l anthem because of a fear it would be divisive and alienating. Blackish is one of only a handful of shows about Black families on the air. 6/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Here's my point: they rebooted a beloved 90s sitcom & updated the main character to be a Trump voter under the pretense that it was a realistic portrayal of the the white working class. Then in ep 2, they depict her LITERALLY SLEEPING through stories about people of color. 8/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
I'm not saying it's inaccurate to have her do this. I actually think it's TOO accurate (and also not that funny?). Maybe next week, Dan and Roseanne explain to their grandchildrem that Santa and Sandy Hook are both fake and we can all just laugh and laugh. 9/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
He seemed to be implying that Barr (and the character she plays, for that matter) is a racist, which is ironic since his own rhetoric stinks of extreme racism and prejudice.
Note what he wrote in his fourth tweet: “Do I think the characters Roseanne and Dan watch Blackish or Fresh Off The Boat? Of course not.”
Why not? Possibly because they’re white supporters of President Donald Trump? Keep in mind Yu appears to be among the many irrational liberals in Hollywood who loathe both the president and his supporters with a passion.
He also seems to be a believer in the concept of “white privilege:
Trump is white American male privilege personified. Wish there was a joke here but it's not funny. People coming from shithole countries are fleeing persecution, war, starvation, or all of the above. He simply does not understand anything outside his own reality of golf and TV.
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) January 12, 2018
But some contend that the very notion of “white privilege” is in itself highly racist.
“‘[W]hite privilege’ paints white people as a horrible race that does much to keep others down, when in fact they’re just people trying to go about their everyday lives like everyone else with varied examples of success and failure,” Brandon Morse of RedState argues.
“Attempting to teach this concept of ‘white privilege’ is the spread of racism,” he further notes.
Regardless, apparently quite a few liberals agreed with Yu’s assessment of Barr’s joke:
Done with @RoseanneOnABC #Roseanne reboot @ABCNetwork after 1 1/2 episodes bc I don’t support racist programs. The attempted joke about “Black and Asian” shows seriously broke my heart.
— LeesahMarie (@LeesahMarieCO) April 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/stronglyaware/status/981366571279904768
First ep of Roseanne reboot seemed enough. But reading up on this ep where she belittles and qualifies value of black and Asian shows by saying "they're just like us" makes me livid. Hide behind that white working class, but you still a white supremacist.
— Rebecca Carroll (@rebel19) April 6, 2018
https://twitter.com/BethReads/status/981929159239847936
The irony is that, according to CNN, the head writer of “Roseanne” is Wanda Sykes, a black comedian known for her willingness to push the boundaries.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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