Fans Call Out 'Roseanne' For 'Belittling' Comment About Black And Asian TV Shows
Many Roseanne viewers feel disappointed after the show seemed to take a jab at popular African-American and Asian television shows.
The episode, which marked the second for the Roseanne reboot on ABC, aired earlier this week.
'Roseanne' Crosses The Line?
In one of the scenes, Roseanne, played by Roseanne Barr, and her husband Dan, portrayed by John Goodman, fall asleep in front of the television. They wake up only to find out they had been sleeping for much of the evening.
Roseanne points out that they slept all the way from Wheel of Fortune to late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“We missed all the shows about Black and Asian families,” said Dan.
While that was potentially controversial in itself, it was Roseanne’s following statement that sparked the conversations on Twitter.
“They’re just like us,” said Roseanne. “There, now you’re all caught up.”
Fans speculated that the television couple was referring to popular sitcoms like Black-ish, which portrays an African-American family, and Fresh Off the Boat, about an Asian family. Interestingly enough, both shows also air on ABC.
'Roseanne' Backlash
Kelvin Yu, a Taiwanese-American actor, producer, and writer, was one of the first to call out Roseanne on social media.
“At the very least, it’s reductive and belittling, as if to say those shows are nothing more than ‘Black’ and ‘Asian’ in their existence,” wrote Yu.
He added that his issue with Roseanne’s statement of the families on the shows being similar to them is what made him upset.
“[It] implies that the point of any show about a minority family is simply to normalize them,” continued Yu. “The stories, the humor, the characters…not important.”
Yu wasn’t the only one to speak on the scene via Twitter. One viewer implied that he cringed when he noticed the joke that went left.
Did anyone catch that dark joke on #roseanne ? Dan wakes up: "We missed all the shows about black and Asian families." Roseanne: "They're just like us. There, now you're all caught up." ...implying those shows only exist to spread the agenda they're just like white ppl. Eek — J. Matt (@Pr0jectVegan) April 4, 2018
Another compared the comment to President Donald Trump’s controversial statements that have gone viral. Earlier, Trump expressed his support for the show.
I love the Roseanne show, but she's doing lots of Trump pandering. The "Black and Asian family" joke was really dismissive and annoying. I haven't given up on her though. — Franky Matches (@mangajunky) April 6, 2018
One fan said she was extremely upset after the comment and ventured as far as calling out the stars.
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 Shuri She Ready Carroll (@rebel19) April 6, 2018
Another said they wouldn’t be watching the show anymore after the comment.
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
One fan said considering Barr has backed Trump openly, fans shouldn’t be shocked at the comment.
The Trump supporting TV character mocked the black and Asian shows. Why is this surprising? https://t.co/ZhB5v562al — Kristina Wong (@mskristinawong) April 5, 2018
Another used sarcasm to share her thoughts and asked for viewers to stop clapping it up for the reboot.
Can we stop w/ the praise now?
“What time is it? Did I miss dinner?” Dan asks.
“It’s 11,” Roseanne says. “We slept from ‘Wheel’ to ‘Kimmel.'”
“We missed all the shows about black and Asian families,” Dan says.
“They’re just like us,” she says. “There, now you’re all caught up.” — Celia (@_celia_marie_) April 4, 2018
SURE WRITERS OF ROSEANNE BLACK AND ASIAN FAMILIES ARE JUST LIKE THE CONNORS. WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE WHITE WORKING CLASS AND THEIR SIMILAR STRUGGLES? — Celia (@_celia_marie_) April 4, 2018
The network has not responded to the backlash yet.
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