Hartley Sawyer Fired From ‘The Flash’ Over Racist Tweets

Actor Hartley Sawyer has been fired from the CW series The Flash due to old racist and sexist tweets that recently resurfaced. This firing happened in the middle of the nationwide protest against systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25.

Sawyer’s tweets have occurred before he joined the DC show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, screenshots of those tweets have been online for the past two weeks despite deleting his Twitter account in the past.

He came onto the fourth season of The Flash in a recurring star as Ralph Dibney a.k.a. Elongated Man. After season four was wrapped up, he was promoted to a series regular in the next season. Now, Sawyer will not be returning in season seven and people won’t get to see the love story of Dibney and his comic book wife Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss).

Upon hearing this news, The Flash’s lead star Grant Gustin reposted a tweet from the executive producer Eric Wallace on his Instagram page. He states that he was” shocked, saddened and angry when I saw those tweets. Words matter.”

View this post on Instagram

**A STATEMENT FROM OUR LEADER AND SHOWRUNNER, ERIC WALLACE. — ** @ewrote — I don’t have much to add because Eric’s thoughts are stated so eloquently and powerfully. I will say I was shocked, saddened and angry when I saw the tweets. Words matter.

A post shared by Grant Gustin (@grantgust) on Jun 8, 2020 at 11:56am PDT

The fired actor made an apology on Instagram for his actions. He said:

“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.“

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

“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.”

Right now The Flash will carry on without Elongated Man in Central City.

“Featured image via SuperHeroHype“