Fans of The Flash will no longer see Ralph Dibny, a.k.a the Elongated Man, in the upcoming season after actor Hartley Sawyer got fired over racist and misogynistic tweets. The CW has announced that Sawyer will not return in The Flash Season 7.
Screengrabs of Sawyer's old tweets that he made from 2009 to 2014 have circulated over the past weeks and it contains some offensive messages. In his tweets, he mentioned sexual assault and also contain racist and homophobic language.
Sawyer's Twitter account has been deleted since the screengrabs of his tweet went viral. All of his controversial tweets were posted before he joined The CW series. The person who originally shared Hartley's offensive tweets, has gathered the old tweets of the actor and shared them online after Sawyer posted a comment about Black Lives Matter.
The actor posted on his Instagram account a lengthy apology on May 30 after the screengrabs were first released online. He apologized for the pain and embarrassment he caused to his fellow cast members, crew, fans, and friends. Hartley added that his past tweets are not reflective of what he thinks or who he is now.
Despite his apology post, The Flash executives decided to terminate Sawyer's contract. In a joint statement from The CW, Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. TV, and executive producer Eric Wallace, the team stressed that they do not tolerate offensive remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation.
They added that it violates the values and policies of the show that promote a safe and inclusive working environment for everyone. In his personal tweet, Wallace added Sawyer's tweets broke his heart and made him "mad as hell."
The Flash lead actor Grant Gustin (Barry Allen/Flash) reposted Wallace's statement. Gustin said he was shocked, saddened, and angry when he saw Sawyer's tweets. He reiterated how powerful words are and how it affects the lives of others.
Hartley Sawyer has yet to give a comment about his termination. His Twitter account has since been deleted.
The 35-year-old actor was first introduced in The Flash Season 4 in 2017 as Ralph Dibny, a private investigator who can stretch his body to any shape or form. In mid-2018, he was promoted to series regular.
The firing of Sawyer from The Flash came amidst the nationwide protests against police violence and systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd's death on May 25. It also came less than a week after Dick Wolf fired a writer/producer for the upcoming Law & Order spinoff because of his offensive posts on social media.
