Roseanne Barr’s self-titled sitcom was reportedly canceled by ABC after she made some racist comments about a former Barack Obama aide – Valerie Jarrett, via Twitter.
According to TMZ, Roseanne reportedly tweeted out that Valerie Jarrett looks like the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.” Since then, many celebrities and fans have reacted, with one of her castmates—Sara Gilbert condemning the statement.
Since then, Roseanne apologized and removed the tweet, but the damage was already done as ABC released a statement saying they were canceling the sitcom. ABC said, “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
NASA has been faced increasing backlash over its decision last week to replace a woman slated to be the first Black crew member on the International Space Station. Since it was announced on Thursday, January 18, that astronaut Jeanette Epps would not be taking to space on the upcoming June expedition, many in public have been calling the decision racist.
Epps – who joined NASA and completed her training in the agency after serving in the CIA for seven years – was suddenly taken off of the mission and replaced by a peer in her class by the name of Serena Auñón-Chancellor. While Auñón-Chancellor will be making history in her own right, as the first person of Hispanic descent to assume a spot in the ISS, Epps apparently isn’t completely clear on why she was demoted in her classmate’s favor.
Epps has been with NASA since 2009, and before working in intelligence, the Syracuse native completed her education as a 2000 graduate of the University of Maryland’s aerospace engineering doctorate program. According to reports, Epps has no history of health issues, and thus there is no indication that the decision was one influenced by a medical doctor.
“My sister Dr. Jeanette Epps has been fighting against oppressive racism and misogynist in NASA and now they are holding her back and allowing a Caucasian Astronaut to take her place,” Epps’ brother, Henry, would go on Facebook and write upon hearing the news. In addition, Henry shared a MoveOn.org petition to help garner support in protest of NASA.
Although 14 African-American astronauts have been in space throughout recorded history, none ever lived in the International Space Station, as Epps would be prepared to for a time.
A nightly news program in Atlanta closed out coverage of the city’s mayoral vote on Tuesday night, December 5, by addressing questions as to whether race wound up becoming an issue in the election. And with the support of her colleagues, one anchor was given the floor to reveal how a letter from a hateful viewer exemplifies how she has personally been forced to deal with racism throughout the hotly contested race.
Shortly after the inquiry was brought up for discussion, Emmy nominated newswoman Sharon Reed turned to a camera off to the side of the CBS 46 studio and called for an email she has been holding onto to be brought to the screen for viewers.
A teacher at the New Vision Academy Charter School in Nashville, Tennessee, was suspended Wednesday after two videos circulating on social media of someone removing a girl’s hijab was traced back to the educator.
In the first video, which is captioned “pretty hair,” the student wearing the hijab is shown hiding her face as someone removed the religious head scarf and exposed her hair to the classroom. Multiple students are seen playing with the girl’s hair as she tries to readjust the covering. Someone told her “her hair was too pretty to be covered.” A second video was posted with the caption, “lol all that hair covered up.”
A concerned viewer sent the videos to News 4. Both of the clips were reportedly posted on the teacher’s Snapchat account. When contacted by the media, the principal, Dr. Tim Malone began investigating immediately.
The teacher initially denied recording the video and said touching the hijab was not done out of disrespect. The girl’s mother and sister were very upset after they watched the video, saying, “This should never happen.”
In a statement to the news station Wednesday, Malone wrote that the teacher was suspended without pay:
“New Vision Academy is a diverse school. As a school community, we pride ourselves on embracing and celebrating our racial, ethnic, religious and economic diversity. Our students learn and grow, best when they learn from one another. To foster this environment, all students must feel respected and supported.
The actions depicted in the Snapchat video do not reflect the values, culture or climate of New Vision Academy. New Vision Academy will continue to emphasize that all staff members act in a way meant to empower and inspire our students. New Vision will use this video as an opportunity to press forward with increasing cultural sensitivity and awareness among all members of the New Vision community. The staff member in question has been suspended, without pay, and we have had direct discussions with the students depicted in the Snapchat. New Vision Academy apologizes for this unfortunate incident, and will be better in the future.”
Mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer revealed on Friday morning she is “not talking” to President Trump after he criticized “two sides” for the violent protests that broke out in Virginia last Saturday.
Thirty-two-year-old Heyer was killed last Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counterprotesters opposing the “Unite the Right” rally. Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, strayed from directly speaking to Trump’s rhetoric in response to Saturday’s events during her memorial service on Wednesday, but did not hold back during a Friday morning appearance on “Good Morning America.”
“I’m not talking to the President now,” Bro said on Friday. “I’m sorry. After what he said about my child, and it’s not that I saw somebody else’s tweets about him. I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters like Ms. (Heather) Heyer with the KKK and the white supremacists.”
Trump tweeted about Heyer on the day of her memorial service, referring to her as a “truly special young woman.”
“Memorial service today for beautiful and incredible Heather Heyer, a truly special young woman,” Trump tweeted. “She will be long remembered by all!”
Trump opened himself up to criticism when he repeated his “both sides” response to Charlottesville during a Tuesday press conference — a statement that was met with rebuke from Democrats and Republicans alike. While he tweeted about Heyer on Wednesday, the president was criticized for not directly calling the family — but Bro revealed there has been attempted and successful engagement between her and the White House.
“At first I just missed his calls. The call — the first call looked like actually came during the funeral. I didn’t even see that message,” Bro said. “There were three more frantic messages from press secretaries throughout the day and I didn’t know why that would have been on Wednesday, and I was home recovering from the exhaustion of the funeral and, so I thought well, I’ll get to him later and then I had more meetings to establish her foundation, so I hadn’t really watched the news until last night.”
James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio has been charged with second-degree murder in the case of Heyer’s death.
In this photo provided by Rob Godfrey, police officer Leroy Smith, left, helps a man wearing National Socialist Movement attire up the stairs during a rally Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Columbia, S.C. Members of the group were protesting Saturday the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds earlier this month. (Rob Godfrey via AP)
I have to commend this officer, I wouldn’t have it in me. This is the epitome of humanity but probably why we’re such an easy target as well. Our hearts are too big sometimes! What say you? Would you help a racist in need? This guy sucks at being racist btw!
itsvainsworld 