The Flash’s Hartley Sawyer fired for racist and misogynistic tweets

Hartley Sawyer has been fired from The Flash and won’t be returning for Season 7.

Hartley Sawyer, who is known for playing the beloved character of Ralph Dibny, aka Elongated Man, on the superhit CW series The Flash since 2017, has been fired after his old tweets with racist and misogynistic remarks resurfaced online, Hartley was introduced on The Flash in Season 4 and had already been promoted as a series regular for the show by the end of it.

A joint statement provided to Deadline from Warner Bros. TV, The CW, Berlanti Productions, and showrunner Eric Wallace stated that Hartley Sawyer won’t be returning for Season 7 of The Flash.

Talking about in regards to Hartley’s posts on social media, they said that they do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation and that such remarks are antithetical to their values and policies.

The Flash’s EP Eric Wallace and star Grant Gustin also commented on the matter.

Later, The Flash’s EP Eric Wallace commented on the matter and said that the tweets broke his heart and made him mad as hell. He said that Hartley’s tweets are indicative of the larger problem in the country which still accepts and protects the continual harassment, unconscious or otherwise. He also hinted that this action was taken in a step towards an active act of change in the country.

Grant Gustin also re-posted Wallace’s message on his Instagram and stated that he was shocked, saddened, and angry after seeing Hartley’s tweets. “Words matter,” Gustin said.

Hartley himself has deleted his Twitter account ever since the incident and has made a proper apology on his Instagram, although screenshots of the old posts have already spread like wildfire in social media.

Hartley’s Instagram post read, “I’m not here to make excuses – regardless of the intention my words matter, and they carry profound consequences. And mine can and have caused pain and embarrassment, along with feelings I can only imagine, to supporters and fans, my castmates, 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.”

Hartley’s tweets are mostly from 2012 and 2013 before he made it big and contains racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks.

Hartley’s firing does raise some really big questions surrounding the nature of the show’s upcoming season and Ralph Dibny since there is still no official word on whether or not they will recast the character or just written off, fans who have come to love the character have also been worried about his fate since there are also ongoing rumors about Batwoman killing Kate Kane as a result of Ruby Rose’s departure from the show.

Fans worry that Ralph might also follow the same path but that would rather be completely illogical since the character has come so far since he was first introduced and has even met his love interest, Sue Dibny, played by the charming Natalie Dreyfuss.

What do you think about the decision to fire Hartley Sawyer? Who should replace him as Ralph Dibny? Comment down your thoughts below and let us know.