It has been announced that Hartley Sawyer will not be returning to The Flash in Season 7.
It was revealed that as late as 2014, Hartley had made horrible jokes on Twitter aimed at women and people of color as well as other derogatory jokes.
Hartley had addressed the tweets a week ago when they were first brought to the public on Instagram.
I'm not here to make excuses—regardless of the intention, my words matter and they carry profound consequences. And mine can have caused pain and embarrassment, along with feelings I can only imagine to supports and fans, my cast mates, the crew, my colleagues and friends. I owe them all an apology. And I owe each of you an apology. Thank you for holding me accountable.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.
Personally, I hope Hartley is sincere here. However, especially during this current cultural climate, the showrunner of the Flash and the executive producers had to take action. Showrunner Eric Wallace had this to say:
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. Because at present, our country still accepts and protects the continual harassment—unconscious or otherwise— terrorizing and brutalizing of Black and Brown people, which is far too often fatal. That's why our country is standing up once again and shouting, "ENOUGH!" and taking to the streets to bring about active change.I, too, am committed to bringing permanent change to the work environment here on The Flash. Yes, this is a family show. But it's for all families. That includes Black and Brown ones. In order to facilitate this, I will continue to find Black and Brown writers, directors, actors and producers of all genders to help tell Flash stories. Their stories are part of the American narrative, too, and must be heard. And the more you hear and see us, the more you will begin to recognize one simple fact: We're human beings, too.To those who still aren't sure why so many Americans have taken to the streets to make their voices known, I ask you to consider this: Every time a Black or Brown life is harassed, harmed or murdered, as in the case of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many others, our entire country fractures and moves further and further away from any moral authority we often claim to have in the world. Murder is not democracy. Systemic and institutional white privilege is not equality. Suppressing the free press with violence is not liberty. The only way for you to be free is for all of us to be free.#BlackLivesMatter
It is not yet announced how Hartley's firing will affect the show. Ralph (and likely Sue) could be written off the show or Ralph could be recast. Natalie Dreyfuss wasn't upgraded to series regular when other new recurring characters were, so an early exit from the show for her is entirely possible.
Hartley Sawyer has not commented on social media after his apology, but before he issued his apology, he had determined to use his platform to support Black Lives Matter. I think he's likely taking a long break from social media entirely. If you want to support him, support Black Lives Matter and other socially progressive causes in your area.
So, we'll see how things go. We'll still be doing comic reviews when time allows.
