Hartley Sawyer, who has performed Ralph Dibny, aka Elongated Man, on the CW collection The Flash for the previous three seasons, has been fired after outdated social media posts with racist and misogynistic references not too long ago resurfaced, Deadline has confirmed.
“Hartley Sawyer is not going to be returning for Season 7 of The Flash,” based on a joint assertion supplied to The News Observers from Warner Bros. TV, The CW, Berlanti Productions and govt producer Eric Wallace. “With regard to Mr. Sawyer’s posts on social media, we don’t tolerate derogatory remarks that focus on any race, ethnicity, nationwide origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and insurance policies, which try and evolve to advertise a protected, inclusive and productive atmosphere for our workforce.”
Sawyer’s Twitter account has been deleted, however display pictures of the outdated posts have been circulating on-line. In a single tweet, Sawyer wrote, “The one factor conserving me from doing mildly racist tweets is the information that Al Sharpton would by no means cease complaining about me.” All had been posted earlier than Sawyer joined The Flash. Sawyer’s firing additionally comes amid ongoing protests towards systemic racism following the demise of unarmed black man George Floyd by the hands of Minneapolis police.
Sawyer posted an apology on Instagram with a caption that reads partly, “I’m not right here to make excuses – whatever the intention my phrases matter, and so they carry profound penalties. And mine can and have triggered ache and embarrassment, together with emotions I can solely think about, to supporters and followers, my forged mates, the crew, my colleagues and pals. I owe all of them an apology. And I owe every of you an apology. Thanks for holding me accountable.”
Sawyer joined The Flash as a recurring in Season 5 and was later upped to collection common.
His firing was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
