Hartley Sawyer has been fired from The CW’s “The Flash” over a collection of racist and misogynistic old tweets that were surfaced in the past week. These tweets were made before he joined the cast of “The Flash.”
The news was confirmed by CW and the show’s producers Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions, who provided the following statement.
"Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash," reads a statement from The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions and executive producer Eric Wallace. "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 polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce."
Showrunner Eric Wallace tweeted a statement that reads in part, "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." See the full statement below:
My statement regarding Hartley Sawyer and THE FLASH. pic.twitter.com/hni0MxOWZU
— Eric Wallace (@ewrote) June 8, 2020
The tweets in question date mainly from 2012 and 2014, including the below ones:
a collection of @HartleySawyer's misogynistic, racist, fatphobic, etc. tweets (sorry if there's duplicates) pic.twitter.com/Kv0afDbiP1
— steph // not affiliated with The CW (@themirrorin6x17) May 30, 2020
Fire somebody for saying something you disagree with. Where's the logic in that? You don't ruin somebody else's life just because you don't agree with something they said, or are offended by something they said. You being offended is no justification for somebody getting fired.
— Scott Kendall (@Merrick_Starke) June 4, 2020
Hartley Swayer also issued an apology via his Instagram last week, saying that he is “incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then.”
Sawyer joined The Flash in 2017 as Ralph Dibny, aka Elongated Man. He recurred on the show initially and was upped to series regular in 2018.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report this news.
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