[videowaywire video_id=”2FB92BBA9FC3B545″]
*Fallout continues to follow a joke on “Roseanne” Wednesday night that targeted fellow ABC shows “Black-ish” and “Fresh Off the Boat,” also ABC’s lone sitcoms that focus on black and Asian families, respectively.
In the episode, Roseanne Barr and John Goodman’s characters fall asleep on the couch. Roseanne wakes up first, then nudges Dan.
“What time is it?” Dan says. “Did we miss dinner?”
“It’s 11 o’clock,” 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,” Roseanne responds. “There, now you’re all caught up.”
Kelvin Yu, a writer on Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers,” was among the most vocal on Twitter, and in a nine-post thread said that the joke “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.”
He added, “Consider what exactly the audience is laughing at. What exactly is the punchline here? I’ll tell you what it is: it’s an endorsement of dismissiveness and disregard. It’s a familiarity and comfort with the culture of objectifying and demeaning people of color.”
Yu, who also stars as Brian in the Netflix series “Master of None,” went on to call out ABC for hypocrisy after the network stopped an episode of “Black-ish” from airing a plot about kneeling during the National Anthem earlier this year “because of fear it would be divisive and alienating.”
Read all of Yu’s tweets about the “Roseanne” joke below:
Here’s why the Roseanne joke about “missing all the shows about Black and Asian families” matters. 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. 1/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
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
Then you take ALLLLLL of that and put it in the mouth of an avowed Trump supporter (not the actress–the CHARACTER of Roseanne) and you have one stinky little shit sandwich of a joke that ABC allowed to be served in their own restaurant. It’s a big deal. 3/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Consider what exactly the audience is laughing at. What exactly is the punchline here? I’ll tell you what it is: it’s an endorsement of dismissiveness and disregard. It’s a familiarity and comfort with the culture of objectifying and demeaning people of color. 5/9
— Kelvin Yu (@InternetKelvin) April 5, 2018
Consider what exactly the audience is laughing at. What exactly is the punchline here? I’ll tell you what it is: it’s an endorsement of dismissiveness and disregard. It’s a familiarity and comfort with the culture of objectifying and demeaning people of color. 5/9
— 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
Fresh Off The Boat is the ONLY show about an Asian American family. Meanwhile, Roseanne is currently being touted as the refreshing voice of an underrepresented group (conservative women). 7/9
— 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
A #BoycottRoseanne hashtag has materialized on Twitter, with people expressing outrage similar to that of Yu.
Barr was put on again 2 support the
ASS in the WH NOT WATCHING & Blackish has more class and actually deals with real issues @ABC ‘Roseanne’ had a joke about ABC’s minority-led comedies ‘Black-ish’ &’Fresh Off the Boat’ — and people were not pleased: https://t.co/lGB3NGwUHe— Savannah Caporale (@Savannah237697) April 6, 2018
Roseanne is intimidated by two excellent shows that realistically portray in a comedic and truthful part of the American experience she knows nothing about and does not care about. ‘Roseanne’ Slammed for Mocking ‘Fresh Off the Boat,’ ‘Black-ish’ https://t.co/cz6NlQX01q
— Wandaful (@Wandaful8) April 6, 2018
@jessicashaw This might be one reason the Black-ish creator wants off @abc Also, this week Roseanne advocated spanking whereas in original series she never touched kids because she and Jackie were abused. She cried the one time she spanked DJ.
(just catching up on demand) https://t.co/IN9ZZStha7— MD (@amigadehelado) April 6, 2018
For those wanting to protest #RoseanneBarr… Put the heat on @Disney! They’re the parent company and that’s how you get their attention. Tie @therealroseanne to #Disney and then let the games begin! @WaltDisneyCo pic.twitter.com/8feT0ECTqN
— Jagger ? (@JaggerMafia) April 4, 2018
Oh hey @ABC – just think of the cop in this pic as #Roseanne and im sure you ok with this. #BlackLivesMatter #BoycottRosanne https://t.co/0hHZkqqHVI
— Pot Snob™ (@thepotsnob) April 6, 2018
I #BoycottRosanne because of her real life support for #CrookedDon. TV is one thing, real life is another. #ParklandStudents #ParklandStudentsSpeak #BlackLivesMatter #Resist #UniteBlue #VoteBlue https://t.co/O4XLF3NSGr
— Porn Stars For Trump (@PRManMiller) April 6, 2018
Loose this show on your remote. In fact delete the entire broadcast station off your remote until #Roseanne is cancelled.#boycottrosanne https://t.co/XSrzM3JE6Q
— Trae (@traebordileau) April 4, 2018
nope not me I wont normalize this monster in office, stupid, unhinged and has no idea what the President does #BoycottRosanne https://t.co/h64RI0YYXm
— angelasheeley1965 (@beach186563393) April 4, 2018
@kaj33 Get real. Supporting Rosanne is supporting someone who voted for Trump in real life. #Duh #boycottRosanne #NoSupportForTrump
— Shan²on (@seahorse342) April 3, 2018
