Valerie Jarrett: Make Roseanne Racism Controversy 'Teaching Moment'

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Former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett (Cheriss May/AP)

By    |   Tuesday, 29 May 2018 04:49 PM EDT ET

Former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett said Tuesday she's fine after actress Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet about her, but expressed her concerns about others who are subjected to racism daily.

Jarrett appeared on a pre-taped MSNBC town hall called "Everyday Racism" that was slated to air Tuesday night. Hours before airing, the network played Jarrett's response to Barr's now-deleted tweet that claimed the former senior White House adviser was the offspring of "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes."

"I think we have to turn it into a teaching moment. I'm fine, I'm worried about all the people out there who don't have a circle of friends and followers who come right to their defense," Jarrett said

"The person who's walking down a street minding their own business and they see somebody cling to their purse or run across the street. Or every black parent I know who has a boy who has to sit down and have a conversation. The talk, as we call it. And as you say, those ordinary examples of racism that happen every single day."

Barr tweeted this Monday night about Jarrett: "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."

She deleted the tweet and posted an apology Tuesday, but ABC canceled her "Roseanne" sitcom because of the controversy.

MSNBC announced Jarrett's participation in its town hall earlier Tuesday:

The town hall was set up to coincide with the closure of thousands of Starbucks across the country Tuesday for employees to undergo anti-bias training. Those sessions were set up after two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks for wanting to use the restroom and then, after being denied, sat at a table and did not order anything.

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Before Roseanne Barr's tweet led to her ABC sitcom to be canceled Tuesday, MSNBC had planned a "Everyday Racism" town hall with former Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett on Tuesday night.
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Tuesday, 29 May 2018 04:49 PM
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