There’s always a line, what I meant was that even the line differs from case to case. In this case past or present is the line, sure, but in many cases, like sexual assault, past or present doesn’t matter.

The decision has more to do with brand appearances (or it should), in the case of Roseanne if she’s a present day loony and offensive personality that can be a detrimental to conditions working with her.

The politics of it all should be a secondary concern. Whether or not there’s an outrage shouldn’t by itself determine whether there’s punishment. At best the company should already be aware of the issue before the outrage, at worst the outrage should merely bring it to their attention. But the ultimate decision should depend entirely on the situation and offense at hand.