ESPN managers are telling their more outspoken personalities to be careful on social media after Disney canceled Roseanne Barr’s show on ABC after she compared former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett to an ape.
Jemele Hill, Keith Olbermann, and Kenny Mayne are all ESPN employees known to be politically outspoken, and have been told to be more careful than usual on social media sites like Twitter, sources told the New York Post.
Hill caused social media flare-ups directed at Disney-owned ESPN a few times in the past. In September, Hill called President Trump a “white supremacist,” and was later suspended when she suggested boycotting the Dallas Cowboys sponsors after its team owner Jerry Jones said he would bench players who disrespected the American flag.
Olbermann, who spent many years of his career as a liberal political commentator, has been a vocal critic of Trump. Mayne also often tweets about politics.
Although ESPN declined to comment on the reports, sources say that some managers also sent messages to broadcasters and writers who have been involved in social media controversies.
ABC President Channing Dungey released a statement canceling the “Roseanne”show about 24 hours after Barr sent a tweet saying Jarrett was a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and “Planet of the Apes.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger had the last say on the decision to cancel “Roseanne” and could also retaliate against other networks owned by Disney for inappropriate language and behavior.
[Related: Trump heckles Disney CEO Bob Iger: ‘Where is my call of apology?’]
