Hartley Sawyer, 35, who played Ralph Dibny/The Elongated Man in the hit series “The Flash”, has been fired from the CW series after his derogatory remarks on Twitter surfaced. It is to be noted that the Twitter handle does not exist anymore since those tweets had been posted prior to his acting stint on the show. The Hollywood Reporter shared those posts saying they were “racist, homophobic, and had references to sexual assault”.
“Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for Season 7 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”, read a statement issued to USA TODAY by the network, Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions, and Eric Wallace, an executive producer for the show.
Sawyer expressed remorse on his Instagram handle, writing, “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.” Meanwhile, his co-stars have come out in an expression of contempt over this act of Sawyer, calling it an “indication of the larger problem”.
This comes at a time when the #Blacklivesmatter movement is in full swing around the world, with USA as its epicenter, post the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody.