As you are aware, ABC canceled its hit sitcom “Roseanne”.  One online report stated: “In the time it took to compose a 53-character tweet, Roseanne Barr went from a hero that ABC was banking upon to unemployed.”

According to CNN: “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement.

“Disney CEO Bob Iger added on Twitter that “there was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing.”

“The cancellation stunned Hollywood. Industry veterans said they’ve never seen anything quite like it. The revival of “Roseanne” premiered to huge ratings just three months ago. Pre-production was already underway on a second season, which was scheduled for Tuesdays at 8 p.m. this fall.

“But now the show is over. ABC was planning to air a repeat of “Roseanne” Tuesday night, but a rerun of “The Middle” will air in its place.

“Barr’s talent agency, ICM Partners, also dropped her …. “What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency,” the agency said in a statement. “Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”

For communicators, the message that should hit home is the power of social media to impact an individual or institution negatively – as well as positively – and how no amount of backtracking can undue what was done.

Cary Hatch, CEO of D.C.-based MDB Communications, told Capitol Communicator that “communicating without thinking of the consequences is professional suicide.”  Nyree D. Wright, Senior Vice President, MSL Group, added the “accountability of one’s deeds – and words – will always have ramifications. One just never knows when.”