Fox News' Shep Smith on Tuesday began his show by declaring unequivocally that "racism is not funny and Roseanne Barr is a racist" following the star's racist tweet aimed at a former Obama White House aide.
"Now her show is cancelled," the host said.
Smith added context to the situation when noting that Barr compared former senior White House aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape in response to "an unfounded claim that President Obama had spied on French presidential candidates."
"She accused his former adviser [Jarrett] of helping," the host continued.
Though the "Roseanne" reboot was cancelled hours after the star's tweet caused a maelstrom on Twitter and in the news, Smith noted that "it's not as if ABC did not know it had a show whose star is racist."
"Roseanne tweeted about President Obama's national security adviser and UN adviser back in 2013," he continued. "She wrote 'Susan Rice is a man with big swinging ape balls.' Despite her history, ABC was sticking with its star — at least until today."
Smith noted that the reboot was a hit among conservatives who foretold of a movement against "political correctness" and even garnered a shout-out from President Donald Trump, who touted the show's ratings in a speech earlier this year.
"Huge ratings," the host mused, "but racism killed it."
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