Fact check: What was the exact tweet that led to Roseanne Barr's firing?

1. The Core Claim That Set Off a Political and Corporate Firestorm

Multiple independent reports identify the same concise text as the catalyst: a tweet reading that the subject was a cross between the “Muslim Brotherhood” and “Planet of the Apes,” equated to Valerie Jarrett with the shorthand “vj.” News outlets published the alleged wording as the proximate cause of outrage and network action, noting the language’s clear racial and dehumanizing overtones that violated corporate and public norms ^{[1] [2] [3]}. ABC’s decision to cancel the show was framed publicly as a response to that tweet’s content, and coverage emphasized the tweet’s role as the immediate spark leading to the program’s removal from the schedule and associated professional consequences for Barr ^{[1] [3]}.

2. Pinpointing the Exact Wording Reported by Journalists

News reporting repeatedly quoted the alleged tweet in near-identical terms — “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj” — and attributed the phrase to Roseanne Barr as the published online remark that provoked the backlash. Coverage described the tweet as appearing in the context of a response to an unrelated article and stressed that the formulation invoked both religiously coded language and racist animal imagery, which made it especially inflammatory in public discourse ^{[1] [3]}. Later pieces and recollections reiterate this exact phrasing when summarizing the episode, underscoring that the reported wording became the focal point for media, political, and corporate responses ^{[5] [6]}.

3. Immediate Aftermath: How Media, Colleagues, and ABC Responded

Reports from the day describe a rapid chain reaction: condemnation from many quarters, public statements from ABC labeling the tweet abhorrent and inconsistent with the network’s values, a swift cancellation of the series, and other industry fallout including the resignation or distancing of collaborators. Coverage named specific consequences—cancellation of the show and departures among production personnel—placing the tweet at the center of a decision framed as upholding corporate standards on racism and public conduct ^{[3] [1]}. Multiple outlets documented that colleagues publicly supported the network action and that the tweet’s wording was cited as decisive in corporate deliberations ^{[7] [3]}.

4. Barr’s Apology, Defense, and Subsequent Framing

Following the backlash, Barr issued statements attempting to apologize while also defending or contextualizing her intention, calling the remark a poorly worded attempt at political commentary and insisting she was not a bigot. She characterized the tweet as an ill-conceived joke about policy and appearances rather than a deliberate racial assault; those explanations were reported and analyzed in later interviews and coverage that recounted both the text and Barr’s subsequent remorse and resistance to further apologies ^{[4] [2]}. Media accounts captured this interplay between the tweet’s blunt wording and Barr’s subsequent attempts to reframe the intent, a dynamic that shaped public debate about intent versus impact.

5. Consistencies, Discrepancies, and What Was Left Unsaid

Across the provided sources, there is consensus on the quoted wording and on ABC’s cancellation decision; reportage from 2018 and later retrospectives repeat the same phrase and attribute causation to it ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Differences among accounts are mainly about emphasis—some pieces foreground corporate reaction and moral framing, while others recount Barr’s apology and insistence on intent, or note secondary consequences like colleague resignations ^{[4] [7]}. What is less emphasized across the reports is broader social media context, such as surrounding tweets or the account’s subsequent activity, leaving room for further archival retrieval if a reader wants the full conversational thread beyond the single cited message ^{[6] [1]}.