Hartley Sawyer, who plays Ralph Dibny / Elongated Man, has been fired from The Flash after the resurfacing of controversial tweets.
“Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for Season 7 of The Flash,” Warner Bros. TV, The CW, Berlanti Production, and The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace said in a joint statement. “In regards to Mr. Sawyer’s posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and policies, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive, and productive environment for our workforce.”
The tweets in question are from back in 2012-2014, prior to Hartley Sawyer joining The Flash series in 2017, and have been deleted, but as it is the internet, the tweets resurfaced in the form of screenshots.
Hartley Sawyer played Elongated Man in The Flash
Similar to tweets by James Gunn, the tweets appear to have been joking about sensitive subjects including misogyny, pedophilia, racism, and rape.
“If I had a wife I would beat the hell out of her tonight lol,” states a tweet from February 2012,
“As a lad, one of my favorite activities was kidnapping homeless women and cutting off their breasts,” states a tweet from June 5, 2012.
“Dozing off on my couch like a child molester/my brother,” a tweet reads from December 19, 2012.
“Jingle bells, batman smells, women shouldn’t vote,” another tweet states from November 2014.
The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace, an African American, also posted on Twitter including the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag: “This morning, many of you learned that Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for Season Seven of THE FLASH. Concerning his social media tweets, they broke my heart and made me mad as hell. And they’re indicative of the larger problem in our country. Because at present, our country still accepts and protects the continual harassment — unconscious or otherwise — terrorizing and brutalizing of Black and Brown people, which is far too often fatal. That’s why our country is standing up once again and shouting ‘ENOUGH!’ and taking to the streets to bring about active change.”
My statement regarding Hartley Sawyer and THE FLASH. pic.twitter.com/hni0MxOWZU
— Eric Wallace (@ewrote) June 8, 2020
Hartley Sawyer apologies for tweets
Hartley Sawyer took to his Instagram account on May 30 to apologize for his behavior from years ago.
“My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply,” he said. “This was not acceptable behavior. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today.”
Sawyer continued: “I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now. Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult – in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I’ve largely kept that journey private, and this is another way that I have let so many down. I still have more work to do. But how I define myself now does not take away the impact of my words, or my responsibility for them. I am very sorry.”
Last week saw Hartley Sawyer also post the following on Instagram in support of “Black Lives Matter”:
The Flash Season 7 is set to debut in January 2021; it’s currently unknown how the show will deal with the departure of Hartley Sawyer.
