By Eugene Scott, washingtonpost.com
Roseanne Barr, arguably the face of “pro-Trump” Hollywood, has seen a recent career boost built on giving a voice to the millions of Americans who support the president. But a Tuesday morning Twitter rant is the most recent example of how her efforts to provide a more nuanced portrayal of Trump supporters may be doing more harm than good.
Barr invoked racist and Islamophobic stereotypes that triggered so much outrage that some have called on ABC to cancel her successful sitcom. The most offensive tweet has been deleted, one combining a common anti-black racist trope with a conspiracy theory referring to former Obama White House senior aide Valerie Jarrett.
She also retweeted pieces accusing Jarrett’s mother of being a communist, among dozens of other retweets Tuesday. Other topics included falsely claiming that Chelsea Clinton was related by marriage to billionaire liberal activist George Soros, prompting a brief back and forth with Clinton, capped by Barr’s sharing of a false but widespread conspiracy theory about Soros.
