ABC star slammed for using 'Roseanne' cancellation to promote own show

Minnie Driver, star of Speechless, was slammed by social media users after she promoted her show following the heated controversy regarding Roseanne’s cancellation on ABC.

Driver was accused of using Roseanne's abrupt end as an excuse to promote her ABC show. The star tweeted, along with other celebrities, hours after the network decided to cancel the revival of the hit series.

The show's cancellation was caused by Roseanne Barr’s racial comments attacking Valerie Jarrett, who was an adviser of former President Barack Obama.

Driver took to Twitter to share her sentiments about ABC and Roseanne while also promoting Speechless.

She said she was proud of ABC for taking corporate responsibility and taking action to address the issue involving Barr, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the highly-profitable show.

On the same tweet, Driver added, ‘We too make a show about a middle-class family, come and watch us instead.’ She then tagged the official Twitter account for Speechless, where she stars in.

Shortly after, her followers and fans of the show slammed the star and accused her of using the controversy to blatantly promote her own show.

As for the show Roseanne, ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey released a short statement to the press saying, "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Hours later, Barr apologized for her comments and announced that she would be leaving Twitter.

Following the show’s cancellation, reruns of the show have been removed from TVLand, CMT, and Paramount Network. The season 10 episodes of the show have also been removed from Hulu’s streaming library.

The other stars of Roseanne like Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman expressed their devastation and disappointment in Barr with their tweets on the social media platform.

At present, Barr is still yet to comment on the show’s cancellation.