Hartley Sawyer has been fired from The Flash as a result of sexist and misogynistic tweets that resurfaced on social media, which leaves his character's fate in season 7 up in the air. The Arrowverse has always had a reputation for strong casting, with series leads, in particular, shining through. It's hard to imagine anyone other than Stephen Amell playing Oliver Queen, while Grant Gustin's Barry Allen outshines his big-screen equivalent.
The last few weeks have shaken that reputation, however. In a shocking twist, Batwoman star Ruby Rose parted ways with The CW, a mutual decision apparently explained by on-set tensions. Now, Hartley Sawyer - who has played Ralph Dibny, aka the Elongated Man, since The Flash season 4 - is departing as well. It's currently unclear whether the Elongated Man will be recast or replaced, but in this case the reason for the departure is public knowledge.
On March 30, a number of old social media posts from Sawyer resurfaced online; they had been found by a fan who disliked the Elongated Man, and thus had checked back through Sawyer's posts and been shocked at what they found. The comments dated back to 2012 through to 2014, and expressed inappropriate, vulgar humor that contained sexist and racist references. "The only thing stopping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me," Sawyer wrote in 2012, as an example, while another riffed on the water crisis in Flint, MI; several messages referred to sexual assault and date rape. Sawyer's Twitter account has now been deleted, but The Flash fans have been sharing screenshots over the last week.
Sawyer immediately responded on Instagram, apologizing for the messages he had posted. "My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable," he observed. "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." The actor insisted he had grown beyond this inappropriate humor, thanks to friends who helped him become a more responsible adult. The apology was clearly seen as insufficient by The CW, however, and on June 8 the actor Sawyer was fired. The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions, and executive producer Eric Wallace issued an official statement:
"Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash. 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."
The situation is reminiscent of the firing of James Gunn, writer-director of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy films, who was fired in July 2018 after a number of his old social media posts went viral. There are, however, some crucial differences. The first is that Sawyer's old tweets have emerged against a far more troubled backdrop, when a light is being shone on systemic prejudice and inequality across American society. Furthermore, where Disney fired Gunn after just a day, The CW has taken their time to decide Sawyer's fate. That suggests a far more deliberative process, meaning there's no chance Sawyer will be rehired. In his Instagram post, Sawyer acknowledged the great harm his messages have done; that harm was to his own career, with his time on The Flash now coming to an untimely end.