Posted in: Arrow, Batwoman, Black Lightning, CW, TV | Tagged: bleeding cool, cable, comic books, Comics, cw, dc, dc comics, elongated man, Hartley Sawyer, Ralph Dibney, streaming, television, The Flash, tv

The Flash Star Hartley Sawyer Fired for Racist, Misogynistic Tweets

Published Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:24:04 -0500

by Ray Flook

Last updated Mon, 08 Jun 2020 15:23:39 -0500

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When The Flash returns to work on its sixth season, it will do so without Hartley Sawyer (Ralph Dibney aka Elongated Man). The actor has been fired from The CW's long-running Arrowverse series after a number of tweets from Sawyer's past came to light containing misogynist and racist references. As you can see in the screenshot below, the posts (made prior to his joining The Flash in 2017) reference sexual assault and also contain homophobic and racist language. While Sawyer's Twitter account has since been deleted, screenshots have circulated around social media for nearly two weeks (The Hollywood Reporter first reported).

Here's what The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions, and executive producer Eric Wallace had to say in their official statement: "Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash. 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."

On May 30, Sawyer posted an apology for the posts on Instagram, saying in part: "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." You can check out the rest of the post below:

View this post on Instagram

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. 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. 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.

A post shared by Hartley Sawyer (@hartleysawyer) on May 30, 2020 at 11:59am PDT