Jerry Seinfeld “Didn’t See Why It Was Necessary to Fire” Roseanne
Photo by Ethan Miller/GettyTime for another beloved comedian to disappoint you!
While doing press for Netflix’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld issued a blazing-hot take when he expressed confusion at ABC’s decision to fire Roseanne Barr from the Roseanne revival. (For those of you who have been in a coma for the past month, ABC axed Barr after she posted a racist tweet comparing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape.) In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published Tuesday, Seinfeld said, “I didn’t see why it was necessary to fire her,” adding, “Why would you murder someone who’s committing suicide?” and managing to piss off anti-racists and suicide prevention advocates in one fell swoop.
Seinfeld went on to say he thought canceling Roseanne was a missed opportunity: “I think they should get another Roseanne. They brought Dan Conner back, he was dead and they brought him back. So, why can’t we get another Roseanne? There’s other funny women that could do that part. You need to get the comic in there. I hate to see a comic lose a job.”
This sage wisdom is borderline nonsensical, given that ABC hasn’t scrapped Roseanne properties altogether and will, in fact, revive the Conners with their own spin-off show. Plus, Roseanne Conner was a character so heavily based on Barr’s own personality and comedic legacy that any actor slated to replace her would have been almost certainly bound for failure.
Perhaps most importantly, though, ABC axed Roseanne in part to send a message about the inexcusable nature of racism—a message inextricable from the fact that the current president of ABC is a black woman. When it comes to things that have literally nothing to do with him at all, it’s ironic that the guy who hosts a show called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee can’t seem to stay in his own lane. Come on, Jerry. What is the deal?